Lira says that Padilha’s position has an expiration date – 8/1/2023 – Power

The president of the Chamber, deputy Arthur Lira (PP-AL), stated that the political articulation of the Lula government (PT) in the National Congress has improved since the beginning of the year, but said that the position of minister of the Institutional Relations Secretariat —currently held by Alexandre Padilha (PT)— “has a long shelf life”.

Lira said that Padilha suffered difficulties because of what he classified as “allocation of ministries” in the formation of Esplanada de Lula, indicating that he cannot always fulfill what he had promised to parliamentarians. The mayor’s party is currently negotiating entry into the top echelon of government.

“The relationship [entre Executivo e Legislativo] it has improved a lot. And we all know that the position Minister Padilha occupies has a long shelf life. A lot of people go in there and leave quickly and others leave recognized. What has to exist is: sit down, talk, resolve and comply”, said Lira during the program Roda Viva, on TV Cultura, on the night of this Monday (31).

The president of the Chamber went further and suggested that Lula be “more radical” and remove ministers who did not comply with decisions taken by the government’s political nucleus. The statements took place in a context in which Lira mentioned that Padilha was appointed by the president to be the person responsible for the relationship between the Executive and the Legislative.

“Each party owns its share, each minister responds to a party or to some national leadership that nominated him. Many times Minister Padilha agreed on certain situations with certain parties or parliamentarians and the minister simply did not comply.”

Shortly before, the president of the Chamber made veiled criticisms of Minister Carlos Fávaro (Agriculture), although without mentioning him by name, when dealing with the distribution of resources to the states.

Such as Sheet showed, the Lula government unlocked resources it received with the end of the rapporteur’s amendments, but the first distribution privileged states of government ministers —mainly Mato Grosso, by Fávaro, and Pará, by Jader Filho (Cities).

Of approximately R$ 140 million pledged (step that precedes the payment) by Agriculture, R$ 130 million were allocated to seven municipalities in Mato Grosso.

“I don’t think it’s fair that you think it’s fair that it’s better than a minister who didn’t have a vote, didn’t make a public contest to be a minister, send R$ 150 million to seven municipalities in the city [estado] using the same budget that you called secret yesterday”, said Lira, when answering a question on the program.

The mayor was asked which minister he was referring to, but he avoided naming names. “I am sure that the capillarity of 600 parliamentarians who go and return to their states every day has much more effect on the budget, which is a piece of the Legislative, than these things.”

When asked about the PP’s entry into government, Lira said that in his conversations with Lula he never came up with names or spaces to be occupied.

With the return of Congress this week, there are expectations of the resumption of discussions on ministerial reform and the eventual entry of PP and Republicans in the PT’s first echelon. “Whenever my party was in government, it always delivered more votes than government parties”, said the deputy.

Still in this Monday’s interview, Lira defended herself against links with irregularities in the purchase of robotics kits in Alagoas and said she could not answer for the actions of allies.

Luciano Cavalcante, one of Lira’s closest assistants, was the subject of a search and seizure warrant executed by the Federal Police in June. He is known in Brasilia as one of Lira’s most trusted people, who accompanies him on different schedules and trips.

“Luciano is my friend. I never denied my friendship with him. What I cannot do is be responsible for this or that of another CPF”, said Lira.

The investigation into deviations in robotics kit contracts originates from a report by Sheet published in April 2022. At the end of June, the PF sent the investigation to the STF (Federal Supreme Court) after finding documents with Lira quotes and a list of payments linked to the name “Arthur”.

On Monday, the mayor criticized the disclosure of information from the investigations in the press and said that he had been the target of “leadings”. “That paper that I don’t know, that I don’t know who wrote it, that I don’t know what is being reported, that I don’t know what it is about. For me it is a crime, I condemned it the whole time in Lava Jato.”

Earlier this month, Minister Gilmar Mendes suspended the investigation. In the injunction (urgent and provisional decision), he also paralyzed all procedures related to the investigation, such as measures to breach secrecy, until the Supreme Court judges whether the case should fall within the jurisdiction of the court.