Rapporteur rescues PEC Kamikaze in place of fuel and expects to spend R$ 38.75 billion

The Federal Senate decided to completely abandon the text of the proposal that sought to reduce the price of fuels and rescued in its place the so-called PEC Kamikaze, with the granting of a series of benefits in an election year, at a total cost of R$ 38.75 billion.

The main financial impact will be destined to eliminate the queue for the Auxílio Brasil program, in addition to increasing the benefit amount to R$ 600 this year.

Senator Fernando Bezerra Coelho (MDB-PE), who was the rapporteur for the PEC on Fuels, stated that the change was articulated with the president of the Senate, Rodrigo Pacheco (PSD-MG).

Bezerra, who now assumes the rapporteurship of the old PEC, also decided to include within the text the declaration of a state of emergency, to make the granting of benefits possible. However, he points out that this measure will only apply to the benefits provided for in the PEC and that it will not be a “blank check”.

The senator presented this Wednesday (29) the main points of his report of the proposal, which should go to the vote in the afternoon of the same day.

The PEC of Fuels initially provided for transfers of R$ 29.6 billion in compensation to states that chose to zero tax rates on fuels.

Last week, however, government and Senate leaders began to articulate the transformation of the proposal into a package of benefits. The main argument was the lack of signaling by the states that they would reduce taxes to obtain compensation.

PEC 1, in turn, had been presented in February to try to help professionals impacted by the rise in fuel prices. It came to be called Kamikaze because its impact would exceed R$100 billion.

Bezerra’s report will therefore be linked to PEC 1, but he will present a new text – called substitutive, in the legislative process – and which therefore will not contain the measures provided for in the Kamikaze PEC.

“PEC 16 lost its objectives. Analyzing the presentation of other related matters, it was identified that PEC 1 by Senator Carlos Fávaro (PSD-MT) and Alexandre Silveira (PSD-MG) had more to do with the spirit that dominates today of the Senate, which is the granting of these benefits”, stated Bezerra.

An interlocutor in the Senate points out that one of the objectives of the change would be to legally remove – and not politically – from the Jair Bolsonaro government the granting of benefits in an election year, in case of questions about violation of the electoral law. The Fuels PEC had been proposed by the government leader in the Senate, Carlos Portinho (PL-RJ).

Such as Sheet anticipated, Bezerra decided to include in the text of the PEC the declaration of a state of emergency, to enable the payment of benefits in an election year. The measure has been seen as a “dribble” on the fences provided for in the electoral legislation.

The proposal’s rapporteur argued that the device will limit the exceptions provided for in the state of emergency only to the benefits provided for in the text of the PEC.

“It will not be an open door for new expenses,” said the senator

Declaring a state of emergency is necessary from a legal point of view to create a new program, which is aid for self-employed truck drivers. The program will pay BRL 1,000 to self-employed transporters registered with ANTT (National Land Transport Agency) until May 31. The cost is R$ 5.4 billion.

About 870 thousand professionals will benefit, registered until the cut-off date of May 31. The rapporteur decided not to include in the proposal payment also for truck drivers linked to transport companies, as was discussed.

The biggest expense within the measures announced today is to eliminate the Auxílio Brasil queue and increase the benefit amount by R$ 200 until the end of the year. As a result, 1.6 million families will be served by the turbocharged program. The total cost is R$ 26 billion.

The PEC also doubles the value of the gas allowance, which is now R$120 every two months. So far, it is R$ 60 per bimester. The cost of the measure is R$ 1.05 billion.

Another R$ 2.5 billion goes towards free municipal transport for the elderly and the R$ 3.8 billion was reserved so that ethanol producing states can compensate for exemptions on fuel.