Rapporteur evaluates including aid to truck drivers of carriers in PEC

Parliamentarians are discussing expanding the scope of the R$ 1,000 aid to truck drivers and also including professionals who are linked to cargo transport companies.

The measure is being evaluated on the eve of the presentation of the opinion of the PEC (proposed amendment to the Constitution) on Fuels, which will be released this Tuesday (28) by the rapporteur, Senator Fernando Bezerra (MDB-PE).

In addition to helping truck drivers, the proposal should provide for an increase of R$200 per month for Auxílio Brasil families and a 50% increase in the value of Auxílio Gás. Both measures would be valid until the end of this year.

Initially, the benefit would only include self-employed truck drivers, up to a limit of 900 thousand contemplated. The number considers the existence of 872,300 active registrations in this modality in the National Registry of Road Cargo Transporters. The expense would be up to R$ 5.4 billion.

If there is an expansion for truck drivers linked to companies, the register maintained by ANTT (National Land Transport Agency) indicates a potential audience of up to 1.15 million. The economic team, in turn, works to try to limit the “check value”, that is, the impact on public accounts.

The PEC must stipulate that the rules for the payment of the benefit will be regulated later by the Executive Branch. In one of the versions under analysis, it was possible to demand a link with a union, association or cooperative, in addition to proof of activity as a truck driver in the last 12 months.

The request for self-employment registration, however, has been re-discussed as it limits the scope of the benefit among truck drivers – a group that makes up the voter base of President Jair Bolsonaro (PL) and has been an active voice against the rise in the price of cars. fuels.

Another point still under discussion by the technical team is how to propose the institution of a state of emergency. Initially, this solution was designed only to create aid for truck drivers, a new benefit that could violate the prohibitions of the electoral law.

There is a debate, however, whether the expansion in the values ​​of Auxílio Brasil and Auxílio Gás would also need to be under the umbrella of this device.

Behind the scenes, one wing assesses that the measure is not essential, since the programs are already running. Another group, however, understands that it would be safer if the state of emergency covered all expenditure increases.

Therefore, the need for specific regulation to give legal support to the state of emergency is under analysis, a mechanism that currently does not exist in the Constitution.

The state of emergency was the way found for Bolsonaro to be able to launch a new social program on the eve of the election – which is prohibited by electoral law.

The electoral law prohibits the implementation of new benefits in the year of the elections, precisely to avoid the use of the public machine in favor of one of the candidates. The only exceptions are programs that are already running or when there is public calamity or a state of emergency.

Auxílio Brasil and Auxílio Gás are programs that are already underway, but the voucher for truck drivers does not yet exist. Therefore, the president’s assistants fear that the measure represents a violation of the electoral law and recommend shielding via PEC.

The Fuels PEC has already undergone a major transformation last week, even before being appreciated by the senators. Initially, the proposal foresaw transfers of up to R$ 29.6 billion to states that chose to zero the rates of state taxes on fuel.

The measure was part of the strategy to try to hold fuel prices by reducing taxes.

Last week, however, the government and top Senate leaders agreed to change the strategy and direct resources to social benefits. The amount allocated to this package rose to R$ 34.8 billion.

The government leader in the Senate and first signatory of the PEC, Carlos Portinho (PL-RJ), stated that the change took place because the governors had been signaling that they could not cut the rates in exchange for financial compensation, neutralizing the federal government’s effort to get some relief from the bombs.

The only compensation that must be maintained in the PEC is the one that allocates resources to states that reduce their rates on ethanol. The initial justification is that biofuels need to remain competitive in the face of exemption from other fuels, in particular after the ICMS on these products is limited to a percentage between 17% and 18%.

In addition, the reduction of ethanol rates has been the subject of intense lobbying, according to some senators. The PEC rapporteur himself is a representative of Pernambuco, one of the country’s sugar and alcohol hubs.

At first, Bezerra’s opinion would be presented this Monday (27), but the rapporteur informed that he would need more time. The text will be presented on Tuesday (28) and has already entered the Senate plenary agenda for a vote on the following day.

Some senators complained about the fact that the proposal went straight to the floor, thus avoiding some commissions.

“On the occasion of the discussion of PLP 18, what was agreed in the College of Leaders was that that project and PEC 15 would be immediately resolved, and PEC 16 would undergo evaluation by the CCJ (Constitution and Justice Commission), even to resolve doubts about its applicability on the electoral horizon,” said minority leader Jean Paul Prates (PT-RN) in a statement.

“This haste harms the legislative process, makes it difficult to present amendments to improve the text, and will certainly give rise to judicialization. I am in favor of giving Congress the time to do its part, and continue to present good solutions to the Brazilian people”, he added.