How Lula’s speech about Temer “a coup leader” impacts the relationship with the MDB

The speeches of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and members of the PT classifying the impeachment of former President Dilma Rousseff as a “coup” caused discomfort in members of the MDB in recent days. Despite this, the assessment at the Planalto Palace and among emedebists is that the statements should not directly impact the party’s relationship with the federal government.

Last week, during a visit to Uruguay, Lula called former President Michel Temer a “coup leader” when he criticized policies adopted by Dilma’s successor. “Brazil was no longer hungry when I left the Presidency and today we have 33 million people going hungry. This means that everything I did in terms of social policy during 13 years of government was destroyed in seven years. Three by coup leader Michel Temer and four by the government Bolsonaro”, declared the PT in Montevideo.

Criticism, however, is not exclusive to Lula within the Planalto. Last Tuesday (31), the Minister of the General Secretariat, Márcio Macêdo, also called Dilma’s impeachment a coup.

“The dismantling of social participation in the federal government began with the 2016 coup that removed a legitimately elected president and was accentuated in 2018 with the victory of an extreme right candidate”, said the minister during the event.

heard by People’s Gazette, members of the MDB classify Lula’s and PT members’ speeches as “mistaken”, but rule out, at this moment, any landing by the PT government. The internal assessment is that Michel Temer’s party has prestigious cadres from Lula and there is no embarrassment among the emedebists who occupy posts on the Esplanada dos Ministérios, on the contrary.

Even so, one of the leaders of the MDB in Congress considered that Lula should not run his government looking at the “rearview mirror”. Privately, the emedebist classified the statements by the president and PT members against Temer as an “unnecessary provocation” at a time when the government needs to broaden its base within the Chamber and Senate.

“Robust” ministries silence MDB reactions

Inside the Planalto Palace, Lula’s allies assess that the “robust” ministries handed over to the MDB contained the reactions of the party leadership in this first moment. Altogether, Temer’s party has three folders on the Esplanade: Cities, with Jader Filho; Planning, with Simone Tebet; and Transport with Renan Filho.

For PT members, the narrative that Dilma’s impeachment was a coup does not extend directly to emedebist allies, but to party cadres like Temer and former mayor and former deputy Eduardo Cunha. However, Lula’s allies estimate that the “appetite” of emedebists for more space in the government may grow as the need for support within the National Congress also increases.

The search for more space has even stopped an arm wrestling match between PT and Emedeb supporters within the Housing Secretariat of the Ministry of Cities. The sector is responsible for Minha Casa, Minha Vida, a housing program created during PT management, but which is under the umbrella of the portfolio commanded by the MDB. While Lula’s allies seek to sign a PT member, minister Jader Filho has signaled that he does not intend to give up the nomination.

Among the emedebists, former minister Maurício Quintella Lessa has been appointed to the post as an indication of the leader of the MDB in the Chamber, Isnaldo Bulhões (AL). Amidst the dispute, the Civil House prepares an agenda for Lula to launch the program in Bahia, on February 14th.

MDB dealt with Lula’s criticisms against Temer internally

Publicly, the MDB’s reactions against Lula’s speeches came only from former president Michel Temer. In a note, the emedebista said that he recovered the country from the biggest recession in history and that the episode was actually a “stroke of luck”.

In the text, Temer also stated that Lula “seems to insist on keeping his feet on the platform and his eyes in the rearview mirror” and trying to “rewrite history through ideological narratives”. “Contrary to what he said today at an international event, the country was not the victim of any coup.

During the impeachment process, which took place in 2016, Dilma was sentenced to loss of office for having committed a crime of fiscal responsibility with the so-called “fiscal pedaling” in the Safra Plan and in the decrees that generated expenses without congressional authorization. On social networks, the MDB profile only shared Temer’s statements, but the national president of the Baleia Rossi party (SP) chose not to publicly comment on the matter.

Internally, Rossi’s allies assess that the emedebist has been committed to building a base of support for the Lula government to move forward with the approval of the tax reform. The deputy from São Paulo is one of the authors of one of the proposals being discussed in the National Congress on the subject.

For this wing of the MDB, the speech by Lula and PT members about the “coup” against Dilma does not wear down the emedebists, but only the government itself vis-à-vis other parties. The president of União Brasil, Luciano Bivar (PE), said that Lula “escapes from factual reality”. Like the MDB, Bivar’s acronym also has three portfolios in the PT government.

“I am not an anthropologist nor any other scholar of human nature. But nobody escapes factual reality. To escape from that is to deny sociology, anthropology and all studies that concern society in evolution”, Bivar told the newspaper O Globo about Lula’s statements.

Lula’s government has 7 ministers who supported Dilma’s impeachment

Despite Lula’s criticism of Temer, the current PT government has at least three ministers who voted for the impeachment of Dilma Rousseff in the National Congress. Among them, Simone Tebet, who in 2016 held a seat in the Senate for the MDB.

“For all the harm it has caused and is causing to the Brazilian population, I vote in favor of the impeachment of the President of the Republic. But, more than anything, I vote in hope. In the hope of better days”, declared Tebet at the time.

Ministers André de Paula (Fisheries) and Juscelino Filho (Communications) were also in favor of Rousseff’s removal during the House vote. At the time, both held positions of federal deputies.

“For my family, for my friends and medical colleagues, for the people of my beloved state, Maranhão, who gave me the opportunity to represent you today in this historic moment, especially for my dear Santa Inês and for Vitorino Freire, for a better future for our Brazil, my vote is yes”, said Juscelino in 2016.

In addition to the trio of former parliamentarians, four other ministers from the Lula government arrived to publicly demonstrate in defense of Rousseff’s impeachment. The current vice-president and Minister of Industry and Commerce, Geraldo Alckmin; José Múcio (Defence); Carlos Fávaro (Agriculture) and Marina Silva (Environment).