Struggling to form a base, Lula wants to find leaders after parliamentary recess

President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) intends to meet the party leaders of the National Congress, after the parliamentary recess, to try to build a solid base of support to approve projects of interest to the government.

The objective is to reduce the tension with each new proposal that needs to be voted on and become less dependent on intense negotiations, such as the release of more amendments – R$ 8.5 billion for the tax reform alone, R$ 5.3 billion for the eve – and the competition for spaces on the Esplanada dos Ministérios.

“When the National Congress returns, when the leaders of the parties I’m going to talk to come together, the whole press will know what I talked to each one, what was offered for participation in the government and what the government wants to establish in relation to with Congress until the end of his term,” Lula said in an interview with TV Record this Thursday (13).

Among the offers that can be made is the opening of more space on the Esplanada, which has already started with the Ministry of Tourism in which the then minister Daniela Carneiro (União Brasil-RJ) was replaced by federal deputy Celso Sabino (União Brasil-PA) on Thursday afternoon (13) after almost a month of negotiations with the party.

Center with an eye on ministries

The caption and other centrão parties are negotiating the support of the benches in Congress conditional on more space on the Esplanada, and are also keeping an eye on the Ministry of Sport and Health, where Lula gave a survival to ministers Ana Moser and Nísia Trindade, respectively; in Development and Social Assistance, responsible for Bolsa Família; and in Development, Industry, Commerce and Services, by vice-president Geraldo Alckmin.

The parties are also keeping an eye on Correios, Caixa Econômica and the National Health Foundation (Funasa), which had been extinguished by Lula through a provisional measure, but was recreated by the Chamber of Deputies. The body has 26 regional superintendencies and a budget of R$ 2.9 billion.

However, in the same interview with the channel, Lula assured that he will not hand over portfolios that he considers priorities, such as Health and Development and Social Assistance.

“This ministry [do Desenvolvimento Social] It’s my ministry, it doesn’t go away. Health does not come out. It is not the party that wants to come to government that asks for a ministry. It is the government that offers the ministry. It’s just an inversion of values”, stressed the president.

Despite saying that he will not give up some ministries, Lula said that changes in the Esplanada are “the most natural thing in the world”. In other recent interviews, he stressed that he needs to negotiate to achieve governance.

“When you win the election and you don’t have a majority in Parliament to approve the thing you want to approve, you’re going to have to make a composition. And you make compositions with those who won, you don’t make compositions with those who lost. Therefore, we have to talk to the parties that are within the National Congress”, she commented.