Lula’s minister denies dispute with participatory budget – 07/13/2023 – Power

Minister Márcio Macêdo (General Secretariat of the Presidency) says that the participatory budget program he coordinates in the Lula (PT) government respects the role of Congress and that there are open doors for proposals from all sectors, including those who supported Jair Bolsonaro (PL).

“We turned that page of the election. The majority of the population opted for a political project in which it was a campaign promise to promote social participation. We are working to include everyone who wants to be included”, says the minister to Sheet.

Then, he says that the contribution of those citizens and sectors that are committed to eradicating hunger in Brazil, strengthening inclusive and quality education, health for all and sustainable development, with job and income generation, is welcome.

“In the state plenaries, we had the presence of the diversity that makes up the Brazilian social movements up to the productive sector, with the issues of agribusiness, industry and commerce. For us, it is very important to try to reach all ideological matrices.”

Macêdo ends this Friday (14th) the travel schedule for all states for the meetings of the Brasil Participativo platform, created by the PT government with the intention of receiving and discussing proposals that may be incorporated into the Budget and the multi-annual plan (PPA ) 2024-2027.

The face-to-face edition in the capital of São Paulo should bring together nine government ministers, including Simone Tebet (Planning), who works in tandem with Macêdo at the head of the initiative.

The events have been seen by social movements that supported Lula’s election as a return to the political scene after what they describe as years of silencing and persecution, under Bolsonaro and Michel Temer (MDB). Macêdo denies, however, that it is something restricted to a bubble.

“Brazil was coming from six years of prohibition of social participation, especially in the last four years, with criminalization of movements. With Lula, Brazil is experiencing the reopening of institutional channels of participation and the strengthening of democracy”, he says.

According to him, the more significant presence of the organized segment was predictable, because the groups “were muzzled and now have the chance to speak”, but religious, business and rural sectors that distanced themselves from Lula in the election were called and participated in meetings.

The minister also highlighted the presence of opposition politicians, including governors. “And there were criticisms of the government as well, which is natural”, he adds.

“What impressed me most about this process were people talking about the opportunity to make their contribution, along the lines of ‘I exist, I’m not invisible, I want to help my country, and my country is listening to me’. This feeling of belonging , participation and democracy has been very strong.”

According to the ministry, the Brasil Participativo process has so far involved 1 million people, with an equivalent number of votes for the proposals that compete to be defined as priorities in budget planning. More than 6,800 suggestions have been received so far this week.

Macêdo says that public agents from other countries sought the government to understand and eventually replicate “an experience as grand and unprecedented” as this one.

“We are recovering direct democracy in the country. The population is putting their fingerprints on government planning”, he says, praising this interlocution as a way to improve the diagnosis of problems and reduce the possibility of government errors.

“I don’t believe in half democracy, but in democracy as a whole, respecting both aspects. Representative democracy plays a fundamental role, with harmony between the Powers, and direct democracy brings the participation of the people, expressing their pains, needs and wishes.”

Macêdo also says that he does not see the people as a problem, but as a solution. “The most conservative sectors that love fascism, deep down, do not like the presence of the people in defining the country’s destiny. It is as if it were a mass of maneuver for the interests of the dominant classes.”

In practice, the suggestions collected by the platform need a series of stamps to be accepted. First, the points are discussed by the ministry of the respective thematic area, which decides whether or not to include them in the forecast of expenditures and priorities for the following year.

The second filter that ideas need to pass through is that of Congress, which has the power to change the text before voting on it. Finally, the effectiveness of the proposals will depend on the actions of the government itself.

“There is no incongruity, divergence or dispute between what we are doing and the role of the National Congress, which is guaranteed in the Constitution. What is happening is that the president is listening to the people instead of listening only to his ministers and technicians”, says Macedo.

According to him, proposals that are left out of the budget can be used by the ministries in other ways, if the teams deem it pertinent. Congress will also be aware of demands and urgencies arising from popular participation, but eventually excluded from the text.

“It is obvious that everything is not considered at the same time, because the blanket is short, right? You have a budget incidence limit. It will not solve everything that comes out of there [plataforma]but the priorities will be incorporated and others will be in the ministries to be done over the four years.”

Macêdo minimizes the risk that the entire effort ends up being invalidated by budget execution via parliamentary amendments, an instrument that the government has used to cement a base of support.

In the campaign, Lula repeated a play on words, saying that he would fight the secret budget with the participatory budget. The rapporteur’s amendments were cited by him to attack Bolsonaro.

According to the minister, the current government works to combine popular demands with amendments to be indicated by deputies and senators. Macêdo says that measures sponsored by congressmen should be in line with the most important projects listed in the PPA.

“There are points of intersection. The point of conflict would be if there were a secret amendment, which there are no longer. There are amendments that will be implemented within the government’s strategic priorities.”

Since taking over the portfolio in January, Macêdo has been working to recreate advisory councils and other government advisory bodies made up of members of society. Conferences on specific topics have been resumed, to discuss issues such as health, employment and hunger.

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How is the participatory budget proposed by Lula

• The government launched the Brasil Participativo digital platform, which since April receives suggestions for the Pluriannual Plan (PPA), which establishes the guidelines and priorities for the preparation of the Federal Budget.
• National forums and face-to-face plenaries are also being held in all 26 states and in the Federal District. The last plenary will be this Friday (14) in São Paulo
• The government extended the deadline for receiving suggestions until Sunday (16), at 10 pm. Users can also vote on the priorities they consider for the country over the next four years.
• Contributions will be consolidated by the federal government and systematized to integrate the PPA Law, which must be sent to Congress by August 31, which can change the text before voting on it