Lula’s arrangement to give money to Congress circumvents STF – 04/04/2023 – Politics

The arrangement designed by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) for political negotiations with Congress foresees that money from the ministries will be used as if it were a parliamentary amendment – ​​in a dribble to the decision of the STF (Federal Supreme Court) that prohibited the payment of the so-called amendments of rapporteur.

A Sheet revealed on Monday (3) that, after inheriting R$ 9.8 billion with the end of the rapporteur’s amendments, the Lula government created a new mechanism to allocate funds to the National Congress and expand its support base. It also established that, in order to spend the money, the ministries should follow the guidelines of the political articulation of the Planalto Palace.

The government even put a specific stamp (code A4) for these resources, to formalize and organize payments.

This money was divided among seven ministries appointed by the rapporteur for the 2023 Budget, Senator Marcelo Castro (MDB-PI). The political agreement involved the summits of the Chamber and the Senate and was endorsed by Lula. In this way, the rapporteur maintained influence over a billionaire portion of the Budget.

Rapporteur amendments were the main bargaining chip between former President Jair Bolsonaro (PL) and the National Congress.

Now, in addition to creating the new code for the money that will be sent to the Legislature, Lula established that the payments should follow the guidelines of the political articulation of the Planalto Palace.

Each agency must observe “guidelines and procedures to be established by the Secretariat for Institutional Relations of the Presidency of the Republic [de Alexandre Padilha, responsável pelas negociações com o Congresso e liberação de emendas] regarding the allocation and execution” of the budget, says an ordinance published in March.

The idea is to detail how the ministries will be able to use the money and determine how they will disclose the names of those who sponsored the sending of money – whether deputy, senator or even mayor.

The A4 heading created will also make it easier for Planalto to operate and monitor transfers made through parliamentarians or political groups. In Bolsonaro’s negotiations, rapporteur amendments also had a code (RP9).

The government’s acts formalize Planalto’s participation in the operation set up to keep Congress in control of the billionaire slice it would have in 2023 if not for the Supreme Court’s decision.

The SRI (Secretariat for Institutional Relations) states that, as there has still been no expenditure of that amount of R$ 9.8 billion, “it cannot be said, under any pretext, that there was distribution or execution of these resources, even more so without the transparency adequate, which attests to the fulfillment of the commitments assumed by President Lula during the electoral campaign”, when he attacked the lack of transparency of the rapporteur’s amendments in the Bolsonaro administration.

Government members claim that the PT had to comply with a political agreement with Congress after the end of the rapporteur’s amendments and that going against the will of congressmen would create more barriers for Lula to form an allied base.

In December, the Supreme Court decided that it was unconstitutional for the Budget rapporteur to make changes to the accounts “for the purpose of including new public expenditures”.

In the last three years of his government, Bolsonaro gave approval for Congress to have more power over spending through rapporteur amendments, which increased parliamentary support for the former president.

Whoever held the position of budget rapporteur included expenses that, in practice, served the interests of allies at the top of the House and Senate.

By 6 votes to 5, the STF decided that omitting the list of deputies and senators benefiting from these amendments was unconstitutional. In addition, changes made by the rapporteur to expand public spending were prohibited.

Before the judgment, rapporteur Marcelo Castro had already predicted which ministries would receive the R$ 19.4 billion reserved for rapporteur amendments this year.

In an agreement between the centrão leaders and Lula’s interlocutors, chancelled in December, almost half (R$ 9.6 billion) was redirected to expand individual amendments, those to which all deputies and senators are entitled.

The rest (R$ 9.8 billion) went to government ministries. Although not formally a parliamentary amendment, this amount has been treated as such.

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Timeline: from the rapporteur’s amendments under Bolsonaro to Lula’s budget reserved for Congress

From 2020 to 2022
Bolsonaro gave the go-ahead for Congress to have more power over budget spending. This occurred through the rapporteur’s amendments, which expanded parliamentary support for the former president.

December 19, 2022
The STF decides that rapporteur amendments are unconstitutional. Congress used the budget rapporteur prerogative to inflate expenses and leave room for spending on works, acquisitions and projects of interest to parliamentarians more aligned with the government and the presidents of the Chamber and Senate. In addition, there was no transparency in disclosing the beneficiaries.

December 20, 2022
Centrão and Lula reach an agreement to divide the R$ 19.4 billion that would go to the rapporteur’s amendments in 2023. Almost half (R$ 9.6 billion) went to individual amendments. ER$9.8 billion went to ministries budget.

December 22, 2022
Congress approves the 2023 Budget and puts a brake on it so that Lula cannot reallocate the R$ 9.8 billion he inherited from the rapporteur’s amendments.

February 2023
Lula’s government creates a specific code to differentiate the R$9.8 billion from other ministries’ funds. The initials give uniqueness to this money that cannot be exchanged without approval from Congress.

March 2023
A government ordinance says that the ministries that received the R$ 9.8 billion must await guidance from Minister Alexandre Padilha (Institutional Relations) on how the resources will be applied.

April 2023
Nothing has been spent so far, as Planalto is working on a model to publish the sponsors of the contracts to be signed with that money.

What are amendments?
Amendment is the way that deputies and senators manage to send money for works and projects in their electoral bases and, with that, increase political capital

What types of amendments?
Today there are three types: individual (which every deputy and senator is entitled to), bench (parliamentary from each state define priorities for the region), and commission (defined by members of congressional collegiate bodies).

Does the BRL 9.8 billion slice consist of amendments?
They are not classified as an amendment. This money is within the budget of ministries, but Lula and Congress intend to use it as a political bargaining chip.