‘Whoever rips up the Constitution in one day, the next will rip up rights’, says Serra about PEC

The only senator to vote against the PEC (Proposal to Amend the Constitution) on kindness in an election year, José Serra (PSDB-SP) harshly criticizes the Senate for having overruled the vote in just two days, instead of seeking a way out that would keep fiscal responsibility and without extreme and controversial measures, such as the declaration of a state of emergency.

“Has the Senate only discovered that families are hungry in Brazil?” asks the senator and former governor of São Paulo, in an interview with Sheet.

On Thursday night (30), the Federal Senate approved a PEC that institutes a state of emergency and opens public coffers to boost social benefits. The proposal provides for R$ 41.25 billion, outside the spending ceiling, to raise the Auxílio Brasil value to R$ 600 and eliminate the waiting list for the program, double the Gas Valley and to pay aid for truck drivers and taxi drivers.

The creation of some of these benefits was only legally possible because the text of the proposal also contains a controversial device that establishes the state of emergency to make the benefits viable, which has been pointed out as a “dribble” in the electoral legislation.

“From the moment the Constitution becomes an instrument for occasion majorities to undermine what they want, anything is possible. I feel that everything will depend on the convenience, need or despair of those involved”, he says.

Why did you decide to vote against the PEC? For the way it all happened. Suddenly, a PEC appears with expenditures on the order of R$ 38 billion, temporary expenses authorized in the Transitional Constitutional Provisions Act. There were several items in the package: income transfer for those eligible for Auxílio Brasil, free subsidy for the elderly in urban and semi-urban public transport, compensation to states for ICMS credit to the ethanol sector, increase in gas assistance, transfers to truck drivers. Then came transfers to taxi drivers, all in two days. We did not have the consolidated text of the PEC at the time the vote was opened. In the end, the Senate approved R$ 41 billion in expenses for 2022 through a PEC that did not even go through the CCJ (Constitution and Justice Commission), voted in two rounds in one afternoon. Fiscal rules, distributive issues, feasibility of spending, the emergency nature of this or that item, impact on public accounts, nothing was discussed.

What factor weighed the most in your decision? The fact that the proposal is electoral, the inclusion of the state of emergency? The electoral nature of the measure is evident. Has the Senate only now discovered that families are hungry in Brazil? Which people are poisoned or burned by the use of inappropriate material in food preparation due to lack of cooking gas?

It was a difficult decision, as it is obvious that no problem is greater than the food insecurity situation of millions of families. There are, however, ways and means to obtain resources that mitigate the problem. Suddenly, a state of emergency is declared in the Constitution to exempt R$ 41 billion from all existing tax rules, without any discussion as to the merits of each item in the package, funding sources, economic impacts, etc? In two days the Senate approves a PEC authorizing temporary spending? It would be perfectly possible for us to obtain resources through the usual legislative process, via a bill with ordinary and extraordinary resources.

What risks do you think there is in the provision of a state of emergency to make it possible to pay benefits in an election year? Fiscal rules are designed to reduce the risk of public resources being used unfairly or inefficiently, to reduce the risk of chronic fiscal imbalances. By suddenly allowing tens of billions to be spent to provide electoral advantage to governments and occasional parliamentarians, we are reinforcing incentives for irresponsible conduct. Naturally, political competition becomes even more unequal. A Constitution must establish the fundamental rules of the political game and the pillars of a country’s institutional architecture. Yesterday, the Senate made it an instrument to subvert all fiscal rules. The budget legislative process and all the rules that guide it were completely disregarded.

Do you believe that the forecast of the state of emergency can set a precedent, a path, for other initiatives of the Bolsonaro government this year? It’s always possible. What the PEC points out is that there are no more limits. Last year, they approved the PEC for precatories, which is very problematic. Now, R$ 41 billion in temporary expenses, without considerations. There were some initiatives aimed at reducing fuel prices by force, even considering revising the law on state-owned companies. Once the Constitution becomes an instrument for occasional majorities to undermine what they want, anything is possible. I feel that everything will depend on the convenience, need or desperation of those involved.

In addition to the contrary vote, do you intend to take any other measures against this PEC, how to take legal action? Judicialization requires procedural and material considerations. It is not a trivial measure. I will remain very attentive, until the end of my term, to all attempts to deconstruct what we have built with so much effort. Whoever rips up duties from the Constitution in one day will rip up rights the next, until we have none left.