Lira tries to attract parties to overcome the parallel block – 03/31/2023 – Politics

The president of the Chamber of Deputies, Arthur Lira (PP-AL), tries to attract parties to maintain around him a formal contingent of seats larger than that of the newly created bloc that united Republicans, MDB, PSD, Podemos and PSC.

The background of the articulation involves the dispute for power within Congress, the strength that each group will have in the relationship with the government of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) and the succession of the President of the Chamber —which will take place in February 2025 .

The bloc created this week affected Lira’s power and divided the centrão, until then formed by PP, PL and Republicans.

The movement that empties Lira’s internal power occurs at the same time that the mayor is fighting a dispute with the Senate over the processing of MPs, which are the government’s main mechanism for legislating – but which need to be validated by Congress.

The group of center and right-wing parties not aligned with the center was strengthened, gaining the support of the Republicans and adding up to 142 of the 513 seats.

Some members of the new bloc claim that the union can be a stimulus for the future adhesion of part of the Republicans to Lula, although two components conspire against: 1) the consensual assessment that no center and right-wing party should give closed support to the government and 2) the fact that the party is home to the governor of São Paulo, Tarcísio de Freitas, one of the names quoted for the 2026 presidential race.

Lira tried to form a federation between PP and União Brasil, but the articulations failed. The two parties, however, can still form a bloc, but even in that case they would gather 108 deputies. In that scenario, they would be the second largest political force in the House.

There is no provision in Jair Bolsonaro’s PL, which has 99 deputies, to join any bloc for now. That’s because both Lira and Republicans are interested in negotiating and supporting the government.

According to parliamentarians interviewed by the Sheetare on the radar of the PP and União Brasil left-wing acronyms, such as PDT and PSB, and center and right-wing acronyms, such as the federation PSDB-Cidadania, Patriota and Avante.

The government is currently working in line with Lira and is trying to build a solid support base, which is why it has sought not to interfere in the internal dispute in the Chamber with the fear of attracting opponents on one side.

Members of the government claim that they are closely following these movements, but they say that they do not see in them, at least at the moment, the possibility of changing the framework of the base that the Executive is trying to sew in the House.

In addition to the political symbolism of bringing together the largest contingent of seats, the union of parties in blocks gives the largest groups power of command in the composition of the joint committees (between the Chamber and the Senate) that must be resumed for the analysis of the provisional measures, in the Committee of Budget and in the day-to-day voting in plenary.

Lira’s succession is also at stake, although a lot could change by 2025.

According to deputies, the president of the Chamber has sympathy for the name of the leader of the group of União Brasil, Elmar Nascimento (BA), to succeed him.

In the block led by Republicans, MDB and PSD, there are, among those quoted, the vice-president of the Chamber, Marcos Pereira (Republicanos-SP), and the leader of the MDB, Isnaldo Bulhões Jr. (AL).

The PT and other left-wing parties have around 130 deputies, which would be decisive if the center and right-wing blocs actually decide to face off in the dispute over Lira’s succession.