Opposition to Lula prepares cabinet to oversee government actions

Opposition parties are organizing to closely monitor any failure or contradiction by the government, during the daily battle of narratives. The leader of the opposition in the Senate, Senator Rogério Marinho (PL-RN), initiated the first and biggest initiative in this sense, assembling a team specialized in several areas to critically monitor the routine of the Planalto and Esplanada dos Ministérios. This group of advisers will be maintained by the leadership structure of the block formed by the PL, Republicans and Progressives benches, which add up to 22 parliamentarians.

Marinho was inspired by the model of “shadow cabinet” (shadow cabinet, in free translation from English) used in countries such as the United Kingdom, Canada and Australia. In it, opposition parties carefully track government actions and prepare to take power in case of victory in the next elections, with alternative proposals. In the original model, however, the “cabinet” is composed of “mirror” parliamentarians, who directly supervise ministers who are their counterparts in the government.

Days after being defeated by Rodrigo Pacheco (PSD-MG) in the race for the presidency of the Senate, Marinho was chosen as leader of the opposition. In the election of the Board of Directors, he received 32 votes, while Pacheco was re-elected with 49. The leadership of the PL in the House was with Carlos Portinho (PL-RJ) and the leadership of the minority with Ciro Nogueira (PP-PI). Senator Flávio Bolsonaro (PL-RJ) assumed the leadership of the minority in Congress. The perspective is for everyone to subsidize the opposition radar. Ciro Nogueira, former Minister of the Civil House of former President Jair Bolsonaro (PL), promises, for example, a firm role as a “responsible opposition”.

Former Minister of Regional Development in the Bolsonaro government, Marinho plans an organization to closely monitor the PT administration. Each advisor hired will be responsible for following a specific folder or group of related folders, such as infrastructure, for example.

As an example, Marinho is putting his strategy into practice through daily posts on his social networks with critical comments on the actions and positions of the government and its allies. Its objective is to exercise an important role in the oversight of the Executive, supported by a robust foundation to support its criticism of the government’s policies and actions. In this direction, the future responsible for the thematic groups will also produce reports, studies, analyzes and comparisons, all with reliable and publicly recognized data.

Federal deputy Bia Kicis (PL-DF) told the People’s Gazette that the opposition in Congress will use all available legislative resources to carry out its mission “in the best structured way possible”. In addition to parliamentary inquiry commissions and demands for clarification, she adds that the opposition leadership in the Chamber will also set up a monitoring team with civil servants.

“If there is not this investment, with research and technical rigor, the opposition will simply not be effective”, he summarized. She participated in a meeting at the PL’s national directory with the party’s president, Valdemar Costa Neto, this Wednesday afternoon (15) to address, among other matters, the party’s strategies in Congress.

The use of “shadow offices” by the opposition is not new in Brazil, being used mainly by the left. In 1990, at the beginning of the Fernando Collor government, the PT, led by Lula, defeated in the presidential election, also set up a group to accompany each ministry.

At the beginning of the Bolsonaro administration, in 2019, a new configuration was launched from seven party foundations, associated with other civil entities, called the Democracy Observatory. Through seminars, videos and manifestos posted on social networks, the multidisciplinary group presented surveys contrary to government action.

Reinforcement of the national bill

With the aim of reinforcing the work of the opposition in Parliament, which is more easily delineated in the Senate than in the Chamber, the national leadership of the PL plans to create a structure to daily inspect the administration of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) and gather allegations of corruption against her. The objective is to provide subsidies for the performance of its groups in the National Congress and other opposition parties. This initiative, provisionally called Opposition Observatory, will have a team maintained by the party, but the coordinator has not yet been defined. The service is expected to launch in March.