RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – President Bolsonaro said he has not yet made a decision on whether to sanction or veto the law establishing a public fund for campaign financing but claims he sees a risk of committing a “crime of responsibility” should he change the fund’s amount, an option that could result in an impeachment proceeding, and mentioned the need to “prepare public opinion”.
“The electoral fund is a law, what has the TSE [Superior Electoral Court] done? It authorized R$2 billion (US$500 million). So a veto or a sanction is obeying the law,” he said. “If you read article 85 in the Constitution, if I don’t respect the law, I’m committing a crime of responsibility,” he said.
The amount of R$2 billion for the fund was suggested by the government when it submitted the 2020 Draft Budget to Congress.
Legislators even considered raising the fund to R$3.8 billion, but ultimately retreated after the threat of a presidential veto.
On leaving the Alvorada Palace yesterday morning, the president further said it was necessary to “prepare public opinion, otherwise, you [the press] will slaughter me, you will tear me apart”.
In previous statements, the president had signaled his intention to sanction the project as it was approved by Congress upon the recommendation of his legal counsel.
On December 19th, the president claimed to be opposed to the electoral fund, but said he was “a slave of the law”. He complained of the criticism he has been receiving and of the pressure placed on him to veto the bill.
What is the electoral fund?
The electoral fund is a public sum that political parties receive in an election year to finance campaigns. In 2018, it was equivalent to about R$1.7 billion.
In addition to this transfer, political parties may use resources from the party fund (public money to subsidize their operations, distributed monthly). In 2019, around R$928 million were transferred.
Minimum Wage
Bolsonaro said yesterday that the amount for the minimum wage this year was higher than it would have been had the prior governments’ policy of readjustment been in place.
On Tuesday, the president issued a provisional measure to raise the minimum wage from R$998 to R$1,039. The amount represents an increase of R$8 over what had been foreseen in the 2020 Budget. The new minimum wage came into effect on January 1st.
When asked whether the minimum wage will always be readjusted through a Provisional Measure or whether there will be a policy for the minimum wage in his government, the president said the matter would need to be analyzed by Economy Minister Paulo Guedes’ team.