Lula diversifies menu to compensate for end of amendments – 02/23/2023 – Bruno Boghossian

The rapporteur’s amendment spree concentrated the currency of exchange for political agreements with the government at the summit of Congress. The Executive released the budget, but the cardinals of the Legislative determined the distribution of the money. The end of the mechanism gave Planalto the chance to invest in other tools.

Lula is working to reformulate the menu that feeds the government’s political support network. In recent weeks, the president has made moves with the objective of pulverizing the distribution of resources, reinforcing the fingerprints of the Planalto in the channeling of official funds and renegotiating the occupation of bodies that distribute this money.

One instrument that won the PT’s attention was the Planalto’s articulation with the municipalities. The rapporteur’s amendments had made mayors of small towns more dependent on remittances made by deputies and senators, but the new government seems interested in regaining influence in this relationship.

The president wants the federal banks to supply the city halls, under the guidance of the Planalto. “We are going to rebuild a room in each superintendent of Caixa for the mayors of the interior to visit Caixa and discuss [projetos] without having to run after a deputy here in Brasilia,” said Lula at a meeting at the end of January.

At the same event, the president promised the governors resources from BNDES and Banco do Nordeste for works. “If the government has its accounts in order and has the possibility of indebtedness, there is no reason why the federal government, through public banks, [não] make it easier for these governors to have access to resources”, he declared.

Despite the diversification, Lula does not intend to give up the center’s services. In the Chamber, the government renewed the terms of an alliance with the group. He closed an agreement to distribute funds to novice deputies and committed to handing over to allies of Arthur Lira the leadership of Codevasf and Dnocs —outlets of resources indicated by parliamentarians.

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