Brazil: what is expected from the new presidents of the Legislative?
On Wednesday, the new presidents of the Brazilian Chamber and the Federal Senate were defined.
Arthur Lira (PP-AL) was elected president of the Chamber with the highest number of votes in history, reaching an impressive 464 out of 513, i.e., 90% of the votes.
His arc of alliances ranged from Lula da Silva’s party (PT) to Bolsonaro’s party (PL).
And he will surely support the incoming government on some issues, but this victory was much more personal than Lula da Silva’s own.
The Senate president-elect was Rodrigo Pacheco (PSD-MG).
Pacheco obtained 49 votes against 31 for his opponent Rodrigo Marinho (representing the right-wing forces and the rest of the bolsonarist spectrum).
His victory was much closer and only came about thanks to intense action by the Brazilian government to convince the senators (including the distribution of positions to politicians).
In the face of the dispute, the ruling base expected a more elastic result, and that did not happen.
The vote obtained by Senator Marinho already allows, for example, the installation of a Parliamentary Commission of Inquiry (CPI), one of the main instruments to make opposition.
Rodrigo Pacheco delivered the victory speech and highlighted some points:
“Pacification is, finally, to be on the right side of history, on the side that defends Brazil and the Brazilian people. For that, it is necessary to eradicate the toxic polarization of our country.”
In other words, he makes a contradictory speech in which he speaks of “pacification” at the same time that he places himself as part of the “right” side of history and defines the other side as the “wrong” one.
Would this pacification be the absence of contradictory political forces in the notion of democracy of the reelected president of the Upper House?
The senator still wanted to position himself as a defender of democracy and to place only the opposition as a “coup plotter” and Bolsonarism as a democratic threat.
On his part, the defeated senator Rogério Marinho said: “In our role of opposition to the government, we will be vigilant, but defending the institution”.
The re-elected vice-president of the Chamber, Arthur Lira, made a speech seeking to show the independence of the legislative house while pointing out that he would not obstruct government directives.
Lira spoke of relaxing relations between the powers and respecting the space of each one:
“It is time to deflate Brazil. Relax relations. And the powers of the Republic, pillars of our democracy, must set an example. It is time to see each one in its own constitutional square so that we can again see the powers articulating, interacting with the exact clarity of where the space of one ends and the space of the other begins.”
He also vehemently criticized the episodes of “January 8”.
On the other hand, he criticized the excessive judicialization of the decisions of the Legislative Power.
The President of the Chamber also pointed out the need for tax reform.
SO, WHAT DOES EACH OF THE RE-ELECTED LEADERS REPRESENT IN THE BRAZILIAN CONGRESS?
Rodrigo Pacheco represents the interests of an alliance between the PT, the STF, and a center-left coalition in the Senate.
The re-election of the senator as president of the Chamber is the guarantee that the Senate will not act in the face of the excesses committed by the highest Judiciary.
The Senate will maintain a posture of submission before the Judiciary and the Executive.
It will follow Brazil’s logic of “defending democracy” while persecuting journalists and right-wing politicians as if this were not the exact opposite of being democratic.
On the other hand, Artur Lira’s victory in Congress does not necessarily mean a Parliament docile to the Executive.
During Bolsonaro’s government, Lira stood out for being an allied leader on some issues, but one that was not an automatic or servile alignment to the conservative former president.
The Chamber is well divided politically, and the legislative discussions will be intense, with no guarantee of victory for the Workers’ Party.
Therefore, although both were victories for Lula’s government, it is important to remember that they were not landslide victories for the Workers’ Party.
Several voices of antilulism also took positions saying they would strongly oppose Lula da Silva’s government.
With information from LGI
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