From cabinet ministers to Luciano Hang to “son 06”: Who does Brazil’s Bolsonaro want in the Senate?

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Faced with the defeats and obstacles President Jair Bolsonaro (PL) has piled up in the Federal Senate since the beginning of his term, the head of the federal government has invested in names that could be elected in 2022 and turn the tide in the House during a potential second term.

The goal is to boost the bench of senators supporting the government and secure a stronger base of votes in the upper house of Congress.

In 2018, Bolsonaro elected many allied federal deputies, but few senators, and some of them eventually jumped ship. This was the case of Senator Major Olimpio (PSL-SP), who died in March this year from Covid-19, whilst opposing the federal government.

Among the names Bolsonaro is considering for the October election, there are newcomers to politics, such as the Santa Catarina entrepreneur Luciano Hang (no party), as well as familiar names such as federal deputies and senators seeking re-election.

In the Senate, terms have a duration of 8 years. In 2022, only 1/3 of the 81 seats will be renewed (one per state and the Federal District), which makes the dispute more fierce.

Of the 27 senators ending their mandates next year, 15 will run for reelection, 4 are undecided, 1 is a pre-candidate for state governor and 1 is a pre-candidate for the presidency. Two do not intend to run and 1 will run for federal deputy. Only 3 did not respond to the article.

Of the 15 who want to renew their mandate, 5 are openly allied with the government – Fernando Bezerra (MDB-PE), Romário (PL-RJ), Wellington Fagundes (PL-MT), Mailza Gomes (PP-AC), and Fernando Collor (Pros-AL).

Two other senators are independent, Telmário Motta (Pros-RR) and Kátia Abreu (PP-TO), but generally vote in favor of the governing parties’ agendas.

Another name that has been aligned with the Planalto Palace is that of former Senate President Davi Alcolumbre (DEM-AP). Currently, the legislator from Amapá is estranged from the federal government and was responsible for delaying for over 4 months the examination of Bolsonaro’s ex-Minister of Justice André Mendonça – nominated for a Supreme Court position – in the Constitution and Justice Committee (CCJ).

DEFEATS

In almost 3 years in office, Bolsonaro has met significant defeats and obstacles in the Senate. In 2021, he faced the Covid-19 Parliamentary Inquiry Committee (CPI), which investigated omissions by the federal government in the fight against the pandemic and uncovered suspicions of corruption in public contracts.

The investigations resulted in the indictment of the country’s President for 11 crimes. Currently, the committee report is under review by the Prosecutor General’s Office (PGR) and the Federal Supreme Court (STF).

This year, the Chief Executive also saw senators bury bills such as the Provisional Measure of the “mini-labor reform,” as well as the government’s initiative to allow private sector purchases of vaccines for Covid-19. The latter was heavily rejected in the Senate and was not even scheduled by the body’s president Rodrigo Pacheco (PSD-MG).

Bolsonaro’s defeats in Congress do not stop there. Bills of interest to the government dealing with issues such as environmental licensing, flexibility of the administrative improbity law, and a proposal that aimed to prevent the interruption of classes due to restrictive measures imposed by the pandemic, all met the same fate: shelved indefinitely.

Another agenda item dear to the government that lacked the desired celerity was the Income Tax reform. Passed in September this year in the Chamber of Deputies, the bill has not even been scheduled for hearings in the Senate Economic Affairs Committee. Pacheco’s forecast is that this will only occur next year.

Another stone in Bolsonaro’s shoe was the attempt to privatize the Correios (Brazilian Post), which has had its vote deferred twice in the CAE due to resistance from members of the committee over the report of senator Márcio Bittar (PSL-AC).

The President’s most recent setback with senators was the difficulty in approving his nominee for the Federal Supreme Court (STF). The former Solicitor General and Minister of Justice André Mendonça had to wait 4 and a half months and only had his name approved by the House last Wednesday, December 1, and by a tight vote margin.

Finally, another issue that measured Bolsonaro’s strength in the Senate was the Proposed Constitutional Amendment (PEC) regarding the postponement of the payment of court-ordered debts. The approval was only possible thanks to some juggling by the rapporteur of the matter, government leader in the House Senator Fernando Bezerra (MDB-PE), to please everyone.

The text submitted by the government, as amended and passed in the Chamber, was slashed by senators, who imposed significant defeats to the government in the proposal, such as the institution of the “Auxílio Brasil” (Brazil Aid) as a benefit to be paid on a permanent basis, in addition to the requirement to allocate for social purposes all newly opened revenue in the budget.

CABINET MINISTERS IN THE SENATE

Bolsonaro has encouraged some of his 22 cabinet ministers to run for Senate seats. The plan is for them to be free to fill positions in the Senate and only resume their mandates in the legislature when important votes are cast. This is the case of Agriculture Minister Tereza Cristina (DEM), who may run for a seat in Mato Grosso do Sul after two terms in the House, and Tourism Minister Gilson Machado (PSC), who may run for a seat in Pernambuco or another Northeastern state.

In Rio Grande do Norte, two cabinet ministers are running for one seat in the Senate: Regional Development Rogério Marinho (who recently joined the PL along with the President), and Communications Fábio Faria (PSD). Bolsonaro has been advocating an agreement between the two.

In the Federal District, Government Secretariat Minister Flávia Arruda (PL), a federal deputy, may run for the Senate or be a candidate for Federal District governor. Bolsonarist Bia Kicis (PSL), who is serving her first term in the Chamber of Deputies, has also been encouraged to run for senator.

In Santa Catarina, there are at least 3 names that please Bolsonaro: entrepreneur Luciano Hang, federal deputy Daniel Freitas (PSL), and Fisheries Secretary Jorge Seif – who became one of the President’s favorites, and is now often referred to as the Chief Executive’s “son #06.”

Bolsonaro has already said that, if he chooses to run, Hang will not even need to campaign. “If he [Hang] is [candidate], he doesn’t need to leave home. He’s someone, a businessman who has contributed a lot. Not to me, no, but to Brazil,” Bolsonaro told supporters in November.

In São Paulo, Bolsonaro insists on launching Infrastructure Minister Tarcísio de Freitas for governor. The goal is to have a stronghold in the state now run by João Doria, who is a presidential pre-candidate and supports Rodrigo Garcia. However, de Freitas has not yet confirmed his intention to run for governor and may choose the Senate.

Another potential name in São Paulo to be endorsed by the Chief Executive is entrepreneur Paulo Skaf (MDB), chairman of the Federation of Industries of the State of São Paulo (FIESP). Other names endorsed by the President are federal deputy José Medeiros (Podemos), in Mato Grosso, who could return to the Senate, and blogger Oswaldo Eustáquio, in Paraná.