Ministers from the center reinforce coordination in Congress – 12/06/2023 – Power

Ministers from the center licensed from the Chamber and who were appointed to the Esplanada of the Lula (PT) government in an attempt to improve the relationship between the Executive and federal deputies have sought to reinforce the political articulation of the Planalto Palace in visits to the National Congress.

In July, Lula appointed minister Celso Sabino (União Brasil-PA) to head the Tourism portfolio. In September, he appointed ministers Silvio Costa Filho (Republicanos-PE) for Ports and Airports and André Fufuca (PP-MA) for Sports, after weeks of negotiations with the center and its leaders.

The ministers have participated in commitments in Congress also with the aim of promoting their respective portfolios and initiatives, in addition to trying to increase the ministries’ budgets through the direction of parliamentary amendments.

The 3 portfolios are not even among the 15 ministries with the largest budget in Esplanada — out of a total of 38. Ports and Airports have R$4.9 billion, Sports, R$1.3 billion, and Tourism, R$570 million.

The assessment of parliamentarians heard by the Sheet is that the three licensed deputies have always maintained a good relationship with their colleagues and that this helps to improve political coordination with the Executive.

On the other hand, they consider that, despite the good will of the three ministers, their performance is limited and is not always able to meet the demands of parliamentarians, since they command portfolios that are not classified as robust or with high capillarity.

Sabino has been to the National Congress at least 15 times since he was appointed. Only in September, he participated in a solemn session in the Chamber in honor of his portfolio, in hearings in the Tourism committees of both Houses and in meetings with his party and with parliamentarians, in addition to circulating around the Chamber’s plenary during votes — such as the one that approved the new fiscal framework.

The Minister of Tourism also participated in events organized by parliamentary fronts, such as a lunch at the FPE (Parliamentary Front for Entrepreneurship) and the launch event of the Mixed Parliamentary Front for Brazilian Hotel Industry.

At that moment, according to reports, he indicated to parliamentarians that they would not face difficulties in processing the amendments in his portfolio. The release of resources has been one of the main complaints from deputies about the political articulation of the federal government since the beginning of the PT administration.

On November 30, Sabino announced that he requested the Palácio do Planalto to temporarily resign from the ministry to resume his mandate as deputy in order to be able to present amendments to the 2024 Annual Budget Law project. This way, he will be able to contemplate his political strongholds.

In a note sent to the press, the minister’s office said that he requested the license to “honor commitments made” with the population of Pará through amendments that will be allocated to areas such as health, education and infrastructure.

The minister resumed his position on Monday (4). On the same day, he was in the Senate. He met with the acting president of the House, Rodrigo Cunha (Podemos-AL), to discuss the crisis in Maceió, given the risk of collapse of one of Braskem’s mines in the capital of Alagoas.

Sabino told Sheet that his relationship with Congress is “very natural” for him, as he is in his second term and in recent years he has had relationships with several parliamentarians. The minister also stated that the fact that he, Fufuca and Silvio Costa Filho are part of centrist parties is an “advantage”.

“We have our ideologies, principles and values, but we are always open to dialogue precisely because we are not at either extreme. This is and has always been the essence of Parliament. I have friends and colleagues who go from PSOL to PL. Therefore, in many On occasions, I am called upon to engage in dialogue, even as a minister”, he says.

According to the minister’s press office, he has welcomed 238 deputies and 15 senators into his office, from 16 different parties, since taking office.

Fufuca, who before assuming the ministry was leader of the PP in the Chamber, was in the House at least five times. In October, he participated in a session of the Sports commission to present the department’s actions and a meeting of the Maranhão bench, in which he presented a “booklet of amendments” for the ministry. In November, he shared records of a visit to the PP leadership in the Chamber.

On November 29, he was in the Chamber on two occasions: in the morning at an event at the Sports Legislative Forum and in the afternoon to participate in the inauguration of his photo in the gallery of former leaders of his party, in the PP leadership room.

After the morning event, he went around the House and greeted deputies, including Guilherme Boulos (PSOL-SP), who was having lunch in the plenary cafe.

A Sheet Fufuca stated that since taking office he has also participated in meetings with other state and party groups in the Chamber, reinforcing that he has always had a very close relationship with his colleagues in Congress.

“My background is politics, I’m in my fourth term, it couldn’t be any different. It would be bad if I did the opposite now,” he said.

He also stated that he understands that Congress is the “driving and budgetary force” of any ministry or any action that can be carried out by Esplanada, but stated that his visits do not occur only to deal with the Budget.

“It’s not often that the budget issue is dealt with. Many times we deal with bills, initiatives from the Legislature that need to be improved and that they call on us so that we can build viable solutions for them”, he said.

According to Fufuca’s office, he has received 129 federal deputies and 15 senators, from 13 different parties, since he took office.

The Minister of Ports and Airports, Silvio Costa Filho, was in Congress to participate in meetings of the Republican bench and other parties, as well as to pay a visit to the President of the Chamber, Arthur Lira (PP-AL), to discuss ministry agendas.

“We have a dialogue with parliament on a permanent basis, even because I am a parliamentarian and understand that dialogue is fundamental for the construction of Brazil’s priority agendas. We need to increasingly strengthen this dialogue between government and Congress”, said the minister.

According to Costa Filho’s press office, he has received 133 parliamentarians from different political parties in his office since taking charge of the department.