Zema dismisses secretary and suffers again with the Assembly – 07/04/2023 – Power

It did not help for a long time for the governor of Minas Gerais, Romeu Zema (Novo), to open the vaults or try to change the style.

Less than two months after managing to approve, on the same day, two laws and two amendments to the state’s Constitution, the representative once again faced problems with articulation in the Assembly.

Even having the official support of 57 of the 77 deputies, Zema was unable to see the bill approved in the House that authorizes the state to maintain adherence to the federal government’s PAF (Program for Follow-up and Fiscal Transfer).

Facing obstruction from the opposition, the government supporters were not even able to get the text to be put to a second round vote. And this after being approved in the first round, on Wednesday (28), by 45 votes to 17. It was necessary the “yes” of 39 parliamentarians for the text to pass in both rounds.

The deadline for entering the program expired on Friday (30), the date by which the project could be voted on in the second round. The penalty for the administration for not joining the PAF is a fine of R$ 15 billion.

The stalemate with the Assembly had already wreaked havoc on the top echelon of the Zema administration, a governor quoted as a possible name for the right-wing camp in the 2026 presidential elections.

On Tuesday (27), in the final week of the deadline for joining the program, Zema dismissed the Secretary of State for the Government, Igor Eto.

The portfolio is responsible for articulating with the Assembly. Then, Tiradentes Palace announced the leader of the government in the House, Gustavo Valadares (PMN), as Eto’s successor.

This Monday (3), however, in an extraordinary edition of Minas Gerais, the state’s official newspaper, Zema nominated the deputy governor, Professor Mateus (Novo), for the post.

Questioned, Palácio Tiradentes stated that the deputy “will be in charge of conducting the portfolio’s actions during the transition period, until the new secretary, Gustavo Valadares, effectively takes office”.

Professor Mateus is Novo’s possible candidate to succeed Zema in 2026. Among the attributions given to him by the governor is that of articulating with mayors.

Zema’s deputy has strong influence within the Novo party in Minas, while Igor Eto, also from Novo, had more prestige with the governor.

Palácio Tiradentes blamed the failure to approve the project on the opposition, and said that lawmakers acted irresponsibly.

In a note, the government informed that it decided to go to court to try not to pay the R$ 15 billion fine.

“Measure [de decidir acionar a Justiça]taken after the obstruction of the bill by opposition deputies, in a minority in the Assembly, aims to protect the state against the collapse of public accounts (…)”, says the government.

According to the state, paying the R$ 15 billion would make it impossible to pay the payroll of servers and suppliers on time.

“Seeking the Judiciary is the only responsible way out in the face of the irresponsibility practiced yesterday (30th) against the miners, by the opposition”, says the note. The report was unable to contact the government leader, Gustavo Valadares, and with the leader of the ruling bloc “Minas em Frente”, Cássio Soares (PSD).

Deputy Beatriz Cerqueira (PT) claims that the non-approval of the text was due to the incompetence of the government itself.

According to the parliamentarian, the Zema administration had a year to put the project to a vote, in addition to having started the final week of the term without a government secretary.

“The deadline for approval was from July 30, 2022 to July 30, 2023. The project was only sent to the House on May 18 of this year and approval at the CCJ (Commission for Constitution and Justice), in which the government has a majority, it only occurred on June 20”, argues the deputy.

safes and style

The honeymoon that Zema had achieved with the Assembly made the government approve in a single day, April 19, two bills and two amendments to the state Constitution.

Until then, throughout his first term and during the beginning of the second, this year, the governor had been encountering difficulties in articulating with state deputies.

The reasons that helped Zema in approving the texts at the time were an increase in contact with state deputies and an agreement to increase from 1% to 2% of the Budget the amount to be paid to parliamentarians for tax amendments.

The change, which takes effect from next year, will make state deputies start receiving R$ 31 million, instead of R$ 15.5 million per year. The calculation takes into account the 2023 Budget.