Brazilian Lower House can vote this Tuesday on the Transition PEC

The Proposal for a Constitutional Amendment (PEC) on spending may be voted on Tuesday, Dec. 2020, in the plenary of the Chamber, according to an announcement by the President of the House on Thursday, Dec. 15.

The Transition PEC (also called PEC fura-teto, spending PEC) exceeds the budget spending ceiling by almost R$170 billion (US$32.31 billion) and intends to make it possible to increase the government handout to the poorest, Auxílio Brasil (which should be renamed Bolsa Família) by R$600 (US$114).

The approval of the PEC is controversial, and allied parties want positions in the future government of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) to vote in favor of the project.

On Sunday, Lula da Silva met with the president of the Chamber, Arthur Lira (PP-AL), to discuss the impasse. The PT leader, however, has a trump card.

Also on Sunday, Justice Gilmar Mendes, of the Federal Supreme Court (STF) granted a favorable decision to the lawsuit filed by the Rede Sustentabilidade party and authorized the ceiling to be breached.

Spending on social benefits does not need to be included in the Budget and can be made by opening an extraordinary credit using a provisional measure.

At least 308 votes are needed in the Chamber, in two shifts, for the approval of the Spending PEC.

The measure was approved in the Senate on Dec. 7, with a total fiscal impact of just over R$168 billion (US$32 billion).

Of this amount, R$70 billion (US$13.31 billion) will be allocated to Bolsa Família, which provides for the payment of R$600 (US$114) per month to beneficiaries, plus R$150 (US$28.51) per child up to 6 years old.