Presidency of the House and Senate has political ‘curse’ – 01/29/2023 – Politics

The chairs of President of the Chamber of Deputies and of the Federal Senate, which again come into dispute this Wednesday (1st), carry a “curse” for the majority of those who occupied them.

That of remaining in the spotlight or, even more difficult, rising politically compared to the former function, which is among the most important in the Republic.

No politician who has occupied these seats in recent history has managed to reach the Presidency of the Republic by direct vote. This only happened about 100 years ago, with three senators from the Old Republic (1889-1930).

In the current democratic period, 20 of the 30 predecessors of deputy Arthur Lira (PP-AL) and senator Rodrigo Pacheco (PSD-MG) —who are running for re-election this Wednesday (1st)— went through political stagnation, decline or died shortly after leave the mandate.

The loss or imminent loss of power is described in politics through some symbologies, such as that even the coffee served becomes cold, or expressions such as the lame duck syndrome, more commonly used in North American politics to describe the situation of outgoing presidents.

In the case of the Brazilian Chamber of Deputies, a metaphor used by Ulysses Guimarães, who presided over the House from 1985 to 1989, is repeated by Arlindo Chinaglia (PT-SP), who held the same post from early 2007 to early 2009.

That the president of the Chamber who returns to the daily stream of a common deputy is like a grand piano leaving the moving truck – everyone thinks it is imposing, worthy of respect, but no one knows exactly where to put it.

“The determining factor is how you got to the presidency of the Chamber and how you exercised it. I came to the conclusion that sometimes more important than you winning is how you won. In my case, what touched me the most was the day I chaired the last session. The moment I got up from the chair, I got a standing ovation. That’s when you know if you’re respected or not”, says Chinaglia.

The PT, who takes office in the fourth of his eighth term, tried to return to the command of the Chamber in 2015, but, even though he was the official candidate of President Dilma Rousseff (PT), he lost in the first round to Eduardo Cunha (MDB-RJ), who later became the leader of the process that resulted in the impeachment of the president.

Arthur Lira’s four predecessors went through a similar or worse situation.

Marco Maia (PT-RS), who chaired the Chamber in the 2011-2012 biennium, was unable to be re-elected as a federal deputy in 2018, went on sabbatical the following year and then became director of a fintech.

His successor in the highest position in the Chamber, Henrique Eduardo Alves (MDB-RN) became Minister of Tourism in the Dilma Rousseff administration, but ended up arrested in 2017 for Operation Lava Jato. He tried to return to the Chamber of Deputies in 2022 for his 12th term, but was not elected.

Eduardo Cunha (2015-2016) began to watch the political decline while still in the chair of the Presidency of the Chamber.

After leading the impeachment of Dilma, he was removed from office and mandate by the STF (Federal Supreme Court), in May 2016, amid investigations by Lava Jato. In September, his mandate was revoked by the plenary of the Chamber and, in October, he was arrested.

He tried to return to the Chamber in the 2022 elections, this time for São Paulo, but he had just over 5,000 votes and was not elected. He didn’t want to be interviewed.

Rodrigo Maia (RJ), who defeated the centrão de Cunha and succeeded him in 2016, was one of the most powerful and long-lived mayors.

There were four years, six months and 19 days in command —one buffer term and two full ones—, the longest uninterrupted period since Ranieri Mazzilli (1958-1965).

During this period, Maia was, for example, crucial for Michel Temer (2016-2018) to resist as President of the Republic during the JBS scandal, in 2017.

Already under Bolsonaro, Maia contained the progress of the so-called “customs agenda”, distributed a profusion of notes of repudiation against the anti-democratic antics of the president and led actions in the economic area, such as the reform of the Social Security.

Seeing his candidate (Whale Rossi, MDB) defeated by Lira in 2021, however, power vanished from one hour to another.

“That’s the beauty of democracy, the alternation of power. When you leave the presidency of the Republic, you fall into the same dilemma. I think the big challenge is not looking back, understanding that that circus has passed and that you you have to look for other ways”, said Maia.

The deputy took over a secretariat in the management of João Doria, in São Paulo, did not run for office in 2022 and claims that he will return to the private sector from this Thursday (2).

“I myself came to São Paulo, it was a great learning experience. Now I’m going to the private sector, and I haven’t lost my space. I’ve given several interviews since I left as president of the Chamber, giving my opinion. So, I continue being an important player in Brazilian politics, knowing that nothing is comparable with the presidency of the Republic, the Chamber or the Senate.”

Going further back in time, there are cases of presidents who died unexpectedly shortly after leaving power (Ulysses Guimarães and Luís Eduardo Magalhães) or who, like Cunha, had their name involved in suspicions of wrongdoing while still in office or shortly after leaving office. -la (Ibsen Pinheiro, Severino Cavalcanti and João Paulo Cunha).

Ibsen was one of the central figures in the impeachment of Fernando Collor de Mello in 1992.

However, his mandate as deputy was revoked two years later amid the Budget Dwarfs scandal. Although in 1999 the STF dismissed the case in which he was accused of illicit enrichment and tax evasion for lack of evidence, Ibsen never regained his political status.

As exceptions to the “curse”, it is possible to mention, among others, Michel Temer (MDB-SP) and Aécio Neves (PSDB-MG).

Both had strong hold over their parties when they left office. The first was elected vice president and, after being one of the leaders of the movement for the impeachment of Dilma, assumed the Presidency.

The second, governed Minas Gerais for two terms and was elected senator, almost winning the race for the Presidency of the Republic, in 2014.

Both went through political decline, but many years after leaving the command of the Chamber.

One of the explanations for the “curse” of the chairs of president of the Chamber and of the Senate is that they represent one of the main positions of the Republic, which makes the task of maintaining or expanding power after leaving it complex.

The President of the House is second in line to the presidency. The Senate, the third. In addition to leading the Congress, both have in their hands control over projects and issues that will go to the vote or will be shelved, distribution of reports and budget funds to parliamentarians, among other functions.

In the Senate, the list of occupants of the main chair who managed to escape political decline is longer, as shown by the senators Renan Calheiros (MDB-AL) and Davi Alcolumbre (União-AP), both of whom still maintain great political influence in Congress. .

But free fall is also observed there.

Eunício Oliveira (MDB-CE), for example, failed to be re-elected as senator in 2018, when he was still sitting in the chair of President of the House. He will return to Congress from this Wednesday, but as a federal deputy. THE Sheet was unable to speak with the parliamentarian.