Lira takes centrão to the government and now embraces the market – 7/9/2023 – Politics

Arthur Lira (PP-AL) had already achieved significant achievements for the center, the block he leads. In two and a half years in the presidency, he has strengthened the bases so that the group can continue with the monopoly of the Chamber and power over the Budget. Last week, he took another important step: he now also left his definitive mark with the financial market.

Re-elected with a record vote of 464 deputies, the president of the Chamber used the political capital he has in the plenary to approve the Tax Reform —a historic feat, awaited for more than three decades.

In less than a week, the deputy from Alagoas made the climate change in Brasília and sewed the support of governors and parties for the Tax Reform to reach 382 votes. 308 were needed, as it was a PEC (proposed amendment to the Constitution).

Throughout his two terms as President of the House, Lira positioned himself with nods to the market, building his mandates as a defender of liberal guidelines, getting projects approved and now consolidating his image with businessmen and investors.

Closer ties were a clear goal of the deputy, which began during the period of his predecessor, Rodrigo Maia (PSDB-RJ), precisely in an attempt to rival him. At the time, Maia managed to establish itself with the market, stamping its name with the approval of the Pension Reform.

If the PEC is also approved by the Senate, Lira will vote on complementary projects to complete the Tax Reform puzzle by the end of his term, in January 2025.

This will give repeated opportunities for the Alagoan to establish himself as the darling of the market and seek to varnish the figure of leader of the center.

Minister Gilmar Mendes, of the STF (Supreme Federal Court), gave a push for this Lira project. The investigation into alleged deviations in robotics kit contracts, which involves allies of the mayor and transfers of amendments, was suspended while the deputy untied the knots for the votes in the plenary.

Since the Jair Bolsonaro (PL) government, Lira has built a valuable asset for deputies. The fat slice of the Budget for amendments consolidates the process of independence and strengthening of the Chamber, started back in the government of Dilma Rousseff (PT).

With the support of a mass of faithful in the Chamber, he negotiated with Lula and, in less than six months, revised contractual clauses with the PT candidate. The deputy walked the path from the centrão into the government and repositioned himself in the distribution of billions of reais from the amendments.

Thus, Lira manages to mobilize her devotees to practically any direction in the Chamber. There were few defeats – one of them was the postponement of the Fake News PL, in May.

The Tax Reform is of interest to the Planalto Palace. But Lula was not very engaged. He preferred to empower Lira and government assistants, mainly Fernando Haddad (Finance), who joined the articulation and created the financial conditions for the proposal to move forward.

“How can we talk about speed, speed in voting on a Tax Reform that has been expected by the nation for more than 50 years?”, Lira spoke on Thursday (6), rebutting criticism that there was not enough time for deputies to evaluate the proposal, whose final version was presented hours before the session.

Even those who voted in favor of the text recognized that the approved reform is not ideal, but it was necessary to resolve this matter in the Chamber. Some of Lira’s allies confessed behind the scenes that they voted in favor of the project due to the gratitude they have for Alagoas.

Lula did not manage, in these six months, to adjust a solid base of deputies. The reform passed through the Chamber without the petista aligning with the centrão how many and which ministries will be presented. Negotiations were ongoing as Lira battled for reform.

But now the time has come for the Planalto to resolve the issues with the centrão.

The Lula government’s legislative agenda has already been practically completed in the Chamber this semester — a task carried out based on Lira’s political strength. There is, for now, no common purpose that unites Lira and Lula in the polls. With that, the price for the deputy to curb the PT’s defeats in the plenary session should rise.

Lira vocalizes in recent months the centrão’s dissatisfaction with the space it has in Lula’s ministries. The deputy mediated the rapprochement between Planalto and the bloc, which should result in a ministerial reform.

Lula will need to shelter Lira’s allies so that he is not penalized in the plenary in the coming months, whether in defeats in the environmental area, for example, or in the preparation of next year’s Budget – which is in the hands of a rapporteur for the PL, Bolsonaro’s party.

It remains to be seen in what terms this government alliance with the centrão will be, as the bill presented by the Lira block is high, including ministries such as Health and Bolsa Família. For a stable relationship, someone is going to have to give in.