Restructuring of ministries is approved in the Chamber of Deputies

The Chamber of Deputies approved, on Wednesday night (31), the provisional measure (MP) for the restructuring of ministries in the government of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT). The score was 337 votes in favor, 125 against the text and one abstention. MP 1154/23 still needs to be approved by the Senate in order not to expire. The deadline for this vote ends this Thursday, June 1st.

The president of the Senate, Rodrigo Pacheco (PSD-MG), suspended the session of the House at the beginning of the night. Pacheco said he could vote on the text throughout the early hours of Thursday, depending on the time that deputies finish analyzing the issue. The basic text was approved in the Chamber around 11:10 pm, and, afterwards, the parliamentarians will deliberate on the proposed amendments to the proposal.

In view of this, the senator left the session to vote on this provisional measure scheduled for this Thursday (1st), at 9 am. “If there is a possibility for the Chamber to consider today [quarta] in the next few hours, we would still be able to appreciate the MP, which expires tomorrow. If it is not possible, this presidency will suspend this session to continue either today or tomorrow, at 9 am,” said Pacheco.

The approval of the MP in both Houses will guarantee the maintenance of the 37 ministries of the current structure of the federal government, even with changes in some bodies. Despite the emptying of Ministries such as the Environment and Indigenous Peoples, federal government interlocutors assess that the negotiated text is not ideal, but defended the importance of approving the matter.

Failure to approve it, according to deputy Lindbergh Farias (PT-RJ), would be a “disaster”. The Minister of Institutional Relations, Alexandre Padilha, said the changes made by the rapporteur, deputy Isnaldo Bulhões Jr. (MDB-AL), will not derail the work of the Lula government on the environmental and indigenous agendas.

In tonight’s session, before voting on the basic text, deputies approved the rapporteur’s opinion for understanding the constitutional assumptions of the MP with 319 votes in favor, 111 against and one abstention.

At the risk of not being approved, the MP’s vote was postponed on Tuesday night (30), when the President of the Chamber of Deputies, Arthur Lira (PP-AL), realized that the attempt could be frustrated. Throughout the day, the government and its leaders sought to talk to deputies to ensure the approval of the proposal for restructuring ministries. Lira also spoke with Lula about voting on the matter.