PT aligns itself with the government in the vote on the framework and Planalto expects urgent approval this Wednesday – 05/16/2023 – Market

PT members waved, this Tuesday (16), with the promise of voting in favor of the report on the fiscal framework presented by Deputy Cláudio Cajado (PP-BA). The PT president, Gleisi Hoffmann (PR), stated that the party will not forward amendments to the proposal, if this is the result of an agreement with the other parties.

“If you have the agreement between all parties, it is reasonable [não apresentar emendas ao relatório]. The PT will not fail the government, the PT will vote with the government”, said Gleisi, pledging to seek harmony with “comrades who still have doubts or criticism”.

Members of the Planalto Palace assess the final text of the fiscal framework report as positive. They point out that the signaling of members of the centrão is that the urgency of the project will be approved easily this Wednesday (17) in the plenary of the Chamber.

Political articulators of the government are betting on the influence of the president of the House, Arthur Lira (PP-AL) on the parliamentarians of the centrão to guarantee victory in this first stage and also in the vote on the merits of the proposal, scheduled for next week.

Assistants of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) point out as beneficial the prediction that the policy of increasing the minimum wage will be spared from the limitations of expenses in the new fiscal framework.

In addition, they highlight the absence of sanctions for the president in case of non-compliance with the goals and also the 25% blocking of discretionary expenses that may be subject to contingencies —in the government’s assessment, without this limit, there would be a risk of a very broad freeze that could jeopardize the functioning of the public machine.

Government allies recall that there is a progression in sanctions. In this way, the punishments that could be applied in the Lula government have less impact.

One of the few points highlighted by members of the Planalto is the fact that Bolsa Família has not been exceptional in terms of spending limits. That was Lula’s demand.

However, allies of the president downplay the effect of this part of the framework, stating that the text may be modified in the future by Congress.

Therefore, in general, Planalto believes that, given the recent mishaps in the formation of the allied base, it was possible to preserve the essence of the proposal sent by Minister Fernando Haddad (Finance).

The expectation of Lula’s assistants is that, with the approval of the text, the tendency will be to reduce interest rates in the country, which reduces spending on the public debt.

Government supporters recognize that the final wording of the text has Arthur Lira’s fingerprints and this is a demonstration that the report will have support in the Chamber, where Planalto is still trying to consolidate its base.

“The text is the possible synthesis and it is good for the government and it is good for the country, because it was a successful construction that we did. It will have a large majority and this stabilizes the political relationship and guarantees stability and predictability for the country”, said the leader of the government in the Chamber, José Guimarães (PT-CE).

The leader of the government in Congress, Randolfe Rodrigues (Rede-AP), says that the text brings an above-average orthodoxy. “They are more realistic than the king,” he said.

Despite the Planalto trying to contain criticism from allies of the project, members of governing parties, including the PT, disapproved of the version presented by the rapporteur.

For deputy Lindbergh Farias (PT-RJ), Cajado’s report distorts the original proposal. For him, the bimonthly contingency could lead to investment cuts. “Unfortunately a part of Congress has tied the government. They want to tie Lula. It’s a trap”

For the president of PSOL, Juliano Medeiros, the “rapporteur of the new fiscal rules project, Bolsonaro’s former deputy leader, worsened the government’s proposal”. “It is obvious that he does not want to let Lula fulfill his campaign promises. Whoever is the base of the government has an obligation to criticize the final version of the framework”, he wrote on a social network.

Medeiros also said that the proposal formulated by the Ministry of Finance was already “very problematic”. “Cláudio Cajado managed to make it worse. That is why it is not a question of defending the original proposal, but of combating any measures that try to make the government unfeasible and pave the way for the return of Bolsonarism”.

In a note, the trade union centrals also criticized the proposal. For the entities, the idea of ​​restricting hiring and salary adjustments to civil servants is “unfair to the whole of society, which will suffer the consequences of the reduction of investments in essential public services”.

The text is signed by the presidents of CUT, Força Sindical, UGT, CTB, NCST and CSB.