Lula Party gets Enough Signatures to Request Urgent Vote on Universities’ Budget Cuts

By Xiu Ying, Contributing Reporter

BRAZIL, RIO DE JANEIRO – Margarida Salomão (PT-MG) and Paulo Pimenta (PT-RS) have obtained the number of signatures required (257) to file an urgent request to vote on a Complementary Law Project (PLP), which may prevent Jair Bolsonaro’s plans to cut 30 percent of university funding and federal institutes.

In Margarida Salomão’s assessment, the speed with which the signatures were obtained demonstrates that the opposition has the strength to approve the bill and, thus, defeat Jair Bolsonaro’s policy that, according to experts, represents a disassembly of the Brazilian public education system.

The request for urgency will now be analyzed by the President of the Chamber, Deputy Rodrigo Maia (DEM-RJ). If the urgency is approved, the project of Maria do Rosário will be put to a vote.

In addition to the bill that bans the cuts, the opposition is still working to obstruct legislative work in the House until Bolsonaro’s measure of resources for education is reviewed.