Senate approves project that creates Desenrola Brasil program

The Senate approved this Monday (02) the bill that creates the Desenrola Brasil program to refinance debts. Senators analyzed PL 2685/22, approved by the Chamber in early September. In addition to debt renegotiation, the bill limits interest on revolving credit cards to 100%. The PL was voted on symbolically and goes to President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) for sanction.

Last week, the Senate’s Economic Affairs Committee (CAE) had already approved the proposal’s processing. The rapporteur, senator Rodrigo Cunha (Podemos-AL), decided to maintain the text approved by the Chamber. “We will allow, with the approval of this project, the portability of revolving credit. People who were previously held hostage by their credit card and would have to accept that proposal to refinance their card, now have the freedom to look for another alternative”, said the rapporteur this afternoon when speaking in the gallery. Today, the average annual credit card revolving interest rate is 445.7%.

Desenrola has been in force since July and has already renegotiated R$14.3 billion in debt in 10 weeks, according to the Brazilian Federation of Banks (Febraban). The provisional measure (MP) that created the initiative would expire this Tuesday (3). At the beginning of last week, the Minister of Finance, Fernando Haddad, called for a vote on the text by senators.

According to him, approval of the measure is “essential” to keep the debt renegotiation program ongoing. “It is essential to vote on the MP, because it expires before the end of the program. It has to be voted on. It has already been in the Chamber and it’s just a matter of voting in the Senate”, stated Haddad.