Lula’s allies want to strengthen ties with agro and bring together bench and transition team

Allies of President-elect Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) plan to immediately start the plan to bring together agribusiness, a sector that is mostly Bolsonarista.

Businessman Carlos Augustin, federal deputy and former minister of Dilma Rousseff (PT) Neri Geller (PP-MT) and senator Carlos Fávaro (PSD-MT) should participate in lunch with the ruralist bench this Tuesday (1st) and to carry the message that the Lula government wants to establish a joint agenda with representatives of the sector.

For that, PT’s allies want to foresee a meeting of the bench with representatives of the transition team, such as the president of the Perseu Abramo Foundation, Aloizio Mercadante (PT) —coordinator of Lula’s government program.

Some members of the Lula wing of agro argue that the bench can also participate in the discussion of the head of the Agriculture portfolio to pat the parliamentary bloc, which is one of the most powerful in Congress.

The ruralist bench, which brings together about 300 parliamentarians, is now part of the support base of President Jair Bolsonaro (PL), who was defeated in the race for reelection.

As part of the strategy of getting closer to the group, the idea is for Lula’s team to declare formal support for projects of interest to the sector and which could be approved later this year.

A proposal that should have approval from Lula’s team is sanitary self-control. The bill is ready to be voted on in the Senate and authorizes the hiring of private companies to carry out the sanitary inspection of agricultural activity, exempting the State from this responsibility and benefiting large producers who can afford the increase in costs.

Lula’s allies also defend the project that regulates the production of bio-inputs for their own use or commercial purposes – a text that is also on the agenda of the ruralist caucus.

Bioinputs are products of plant, animal or microbial origin that interfere with the growth and development of plants. They are used to improve pest control or soil fertility.

“There are differences in the bench, but we all represent the agro. We have always been a supra-party group. Our party is agriculture, pragmatism”, said Augustin.

The strategy is also to present proposals being prepared by Lula’s campaign – and, now, by those responsible for the transition. An example is the reduction of interest for farmers who comply with environmental requirements.

In the message to agro, Lulas want to say that Brazil’s image will improve abroad, which expands the potential for negotiating international agreements and, consequently, can strengthen Brazilian products in the global market.

“We want to show that the government wants to work in line with the FPA [Frente Parlamentar da Agropecuária]”, declared Geller.

Another issue to be discussed with the bench is the need to adjust the 2023 Budget project, which is in Congress, to guarantee sufficient resources to fund the Safra Plan next year.

Vice-president-elect Geraldo Alckmin (PSB) was appointed to also approach, during the electoral campaign, with the agribusiness sector. Lula’s allies should also invite him to a meeting with the bench, but they believe that the figure of Mercadante is more associated with the proposals of the new government.

“The president [eleito] Lula and the vice president [eleito] Alckmin are going to talk to all sectors, and they want to talk to the agribusiness as well,” said Fávaro.

The president of the bench, deputy Sérgio Souza (MDB-PR), avoided controversy when commenting on Lula’s victory.

“The most contested election in the history of our democracy allows the certainty that we must walk with serenity and unity. To President Jair Bolsonaro, our thanks on behalf of the Brazilian agricultural sector and the achievements for millions of Brazilians”, he wrote on a social network. , without mentioning Lula.

But, behind the scenes of the bench, the assessment is that, despite the parliamentarians more irreducible to dialogue with Lula, the pragmatism of the group should prevail, which will want to sew, together with the PT government, an agenda of interest to the sector.