Criticized even by bolsonarista, minimum wage of R$ 1,212 is approved in Congress

The Senate approved this Thursday (26) the provisional measure that establishes the value of R$ 1,212 per month for the minimum wage, which has been in force since January 1st. The value of the floor last year was R$ 1,100.

The approval session was marked by an outburst from the proposal’s rapporteur, Bolsonarist senator Soraya Thronicke (União Brasil – MS), who stated that her text defending the value proposed by the government was a “lie” and an “illusion for the Brazilian people”. “. The parliamentarian, however, refused the proposed amendments to change the value.

The proposal was symbolically approved by the senators. As it had already been processed by the Chamber of Deputies, it is now going to be promulgated.

The value of the minimum wage has been in effect since the first day of the year, when President Jair Bolsonaro (PL) edited the provisional measure. The proposal, however, needed to be confirmed by the National Congress.

The values ​​of the minimum wage per day and per hour are, respectively, R$ 40.40 and R$ 5.51.

During the presentation of her report, Soraya Thronicke read the passage from the Constitution on the minimum wage, which should meet basic needs with housing, food, education, health, leisure, clothing, hygiene, transportation and social security, with adjustments to preserve its purchasing power.

“And then it’s very beautiful on paper. That’s why, once again, I’m embarrassed, because it’s so beautiful. [a Constituição] and this minimum wage that we have to approve does not guarantee any of that. So it’s a fallacy, it’s nothing like that. What I’m reading here is a true lie, an illusion for the Brazilian people,” said the senator.

However, there were two amendments to increase the minimum wage. Senator Jorge Kajuru (Podes-GO) for R$ 1,300, while Rogério Carvalho (PT-SE) proposed the amount of R$ 1,227. Soraya Thronicke refused both amendments.

In justifying the refusal, the Bolsonar senator argued that every R$1 increase in the minimum wage implies an impact of almost R$365 million on the annual budget, only with social security and assistance benefits.

“When the minimum wage increases by one real, the impact is so great for those who pay it and for the State, and it really doesn’t reach Brazilians’ pockets. It’s not just the issue of the minimum wage, its value. with this technical speech, full of acronyms and not having anything concrete, good to deliver to the Brazilian population”, he said.

Cid Gomes (PDT-CE) registered a vote against the measure and stated that “I would never accept the rapporteurship of a matter like this”.

Soraya Thronicke also criticized, without citing President Jair Bolsonaro or any other political actor, what he called a “smokescreen” to divert the focus from real problems. She said that people are distracted by “nonsense” with “problems that will not put food on the table of Brazilians”.

He criticized the increase in inflation and pointed out that there are no real reasons that justify Brazil having the third highest index, among the countries analyzed by the OECD. He also pointed out that the value of the basic food basket was R$482 in 2019 and this year it is R$715.

Senate President Rodrigo Pacheco (PSD-MG) also took the opportunity to criticize Brazil’s economic situation and point out that there are “problems created with electoral and opportunistic objectives”.

“I would like to highlight your lucidity, the consistency of your pronouncement at that moment, courageous even, to point out the true dichotomy that exists in Brazil today between real problems and problems created with an electoral and opportunistic objective”, said Pacheco.

“So we have the real problems in Brazil, which are the double-digit problems: double-digit inflation, interest rates, unemployment, double-digit gasoline prices, in some places it is already R$10 in Brazil. , these are real problems, which are solved with true, purposeful solutions.”