In setback for Bolsonaro, Lira postpones vote on PEC that expands benefits due to lack of quorum

At risk of defeat, the president of the Chamber of Deputies, Arthur Lira (PP-AL), decided to postpone the vote on the PEC (proposed amendment to the Constitution) that authorizes the government to create a voucher for truck drivers and taxi drivers, to double the value of the Auxílio Gás and expand Auxílio Brasil to R$ 600 by the end of the year, among other benefits, at an estimated cost of R$ 41.25 billion.

For this, the text institutes a state of emergency, allowing President Jair Bolsonaro (PL) to pierce the spending ceiling and open public coffers without running into restrictions of the electoral law three months before the election.

The postponement of the PEC vote is a setback for Planalto, which is in a hurry to start paying benefits, given the proximity of the election. Bolsonaro is in second place in polls, behind Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT).

The decision was taken after a request to close the discussion was approved by 303 votes to 91 – to pass a PEC, at least 308 votes are needed, in two rounds. At the end of the session, there were 427 deputies present, according to Lira. A new attempt to vote on the text will be made next Tuesday (12).

“I will not risk this PEC or the next PEC with this quorum in the Chamber today, of 427”, said the president of the Chamber.

The postponement is also a defeat for Lira, an ally of Bolsonaro. To speed up the vote, the president of the Chamber shortened the processing of the proposal. Instead of following the regimental rite of having the admissibility analyzed by the CCJ (Committee on Constitution and Justice) and only then being forwarded to a special commission for analysis of the merits, the text was appended to that of the PEC for biofuels, which had already passed the initial stage and was on special commission.

In addition, Lira arranged for the text to be approved without any change in relation to the Senate’s, so that it would not have to undergo further consideration in the neighboring House. The rapporteur on the special commission, Danilo Forte (União-CE), still tried to benefit other segments in the PEC, such as app drivers, but had to back off so as not to breach the agreement that the proposal would not undergo changes.

For the PEC to be appreciated in plenary this Thursday, Lira scheduled a session to start at 6:30 am — which ended at 6:31 am. With that, the period of two collective view sessions ended – a maneuver by the opposition to delay the procedure.

The session also served for deputies to register their presence — those who returned to their states were able to vote remotely through the Infoleg application. Even so, it was not possible to obtain the necessary quorum.

In the special commission, the text was approved by 36 votes to 1 in a session that lasted six and a half hours. In the collegiate body, Novo, which spoke out against the proposal, was the only party to vote “no”.

The PEC on social benefits was added to PEC 15, which adds a guarantee of an advantageous tax situation for non-polluting fuels to the article of the Constitution that deals with the right of all Brazilians to an ecologically balanced environment.

The text does not exactly establish the tax rates that must be levied on biofuels. These percentages must be established by means of a supplementary law.

The PEC that expands social benefits, in turn, has a total cost of BRL 41.25 billion — higher than the BRL 38.75 billion originally agreed.

The PEC provides for the temporary expansion of Auxílio Brasil by R$ 200, taking the minimum to R$ 600 by the end of the year. The cost of the measure is estimated at R$ 26 billion for granting the benefit for five months – from August to December. The text also authorizes the government to eliminate the Auxílio Brasil queue. To double the value of the Gas Aid, the cost is R$ 1.05 billion.

The proposal provides for a financial aid of R$ 2 billion to taxi drivers, granted between July 1 and December 31. The PEC also allocates R$ 5.4 billion to create an aid of R$ 1,000 for self-employed truck drivers, effective between July 1 and December 31.

The text increases by R$ 500 million the supplementation of the Alimenta Brasil program, which finances the purchase of food for donation to low-income families. There is still R$ 2.5 billion in transfers to states and municipalities to subsidize their public transport systems.

The opposition criticizes the proposal – in the special commission, however, it voted in favor. The expansion of social benefits is an agenda of left-wing parties.

In his speech to the plenary, deputy Leo de Brito (PT-AC) mocked the state of emergency provided for in the PEC and said that “the only emergency here is the despair that gripped President Bolsonaro, because for more than a year surveys don’t go anywhere.”

The leader of the PSB in the Chamber, Bira do Pindaré (MA), accused Bolsonaro of wanting to transform Bolsa Família, a social program created by the PT government, into Bolsa Eleição. “It is the PEC of electoral despair. And the measures that this PEC brings are measures that apply only to this year, which proves the electoral character of the proposal”, he said.