Lula denies Lira having articulated with STF judgment against amendments

President-elect Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) and the president of the Chamber of Deputies, Arthur Lira (PP-AL), spoke by telephone this Wednesday (7), amidst tension over the judgment of the rapporteur’s amendments by the STF (Federal Supreme Court).

According to Lira’s allies, Lula stated that he did not articulate with the Supreme Court against the amendments.

The president of the Chamber, according to these reports, said that the fact that news in this sense was published and the criticisms made by the PT to the mechanism generated dissatisfaction.

The conversation was confirmed to Sheetanonymously, by allies of both politicians.

Also on Wednesday, the STF began the trial on the constitutionality of the rapporteur’s amendments.

Since the elections, the president of the Supreme Court, Rosa Weber, had already said that she could discuss the issue after the results of the polls, but the debate began precisely at a critical moment for the processing of the PEC of the Transition.

For this reason, the PT turned on the warning signal, fearing that the judgment on the amendments could interfere with the progress of the Transition PEC, which was approved by the Senate on Wednesday and now needs to be voted on in the Chamber.

Some deputies fear that the topic will only be discussed after the decision is over – or if it is suspended, or at least there is an indication that this will happen.

Lira has already told interlocutors that she will work for its approval and, since the PT decided to support her re-election as president of the Chamber, she has been working to get the necessary votes for that.

The Alagoan traveled to Bahia this Thursday (8), where he has a wedding, and can only return on Sunday.

There is an expectation that the PEC will be voted on next Wednesday (14) in the Chamber, and according to several parliamentarians, the rapporteur will be deputy Elmar Nascimento (União Brasil-BA).

The PEC is defended by President-elect Lula and his allies to guarantee the maintenance of the Bolsa Família of R$ 600 in 2023, plus an addition of R$ 150 for children up to six years old.

The text approved in the Senate increased the spending ceiling by BRL 145 billion —BRL 30 billion less than the value initially in the proposal— and for two years.

The PT began, also this Wednesday, to determine how many deputies it should have in its favor in the Chamber. The measure needs 308 of 513 votes to be approved, but the idea is to get around 340, to have a margin of error.

In this sense, the vote recorded in the Senate was well received: 64 to 13, in the second round.

There are still doubts about how centrão parties will position themselves, for example the PP de Lira itself, whose president, Minister Ciro Nogueira (Casa Civil) defends that the text has only one year duration.

Changes to the proposal may make it need to return to the Senate and, thus, end up not being approved later this year.

People involved in the negotiation do not rule out this scenario, but Lula’s allies are confident that the text will be approved the way it came from the Senate.

Lira has been working to raise votes from the PP, PL and Republicans. PSD leaders say that the party will be in favor of the measure.

Lula’s allies in Congress fear that, if the Supreme Court understands that the amendments are unconstitutional, Lira will withdraw from the agreement to commit to the approval of the Transition PEC.

The understanding of parliamentarians heard by the report is that the amendments give governance and sustain a balance between the Legislative and the Executive. If they cease to exist, the consequences may spill over into the progress of the Transition PEC.

The PT has been claiming that it has not interfered in the judgment of the STF, despite Lula having harshly criticized the amendments throughout his campaign —after being elected, he moderated his speech.

People close to Lira claim that the mayor was not happy with the imminence of the trial taking place in the Supreme Court and does not rule out the possibility that the PT base has moved behind the scenes for the issue to be discussed.

Therefore, the fear is that, if the amendments are overturned by the STF and Lira identifies the PT’s fingerprint in the decision, the agreement for the approval of the Transition PEC will be undone.

Lula’s opponents even claim that the fact that the president-elect has repeatedly criticized the amendments created the environment for the issue to be discussed in the Supreme Court, regardless of whether or not PT members have directly interfered in the progress of the issue.

The national president of the PT, Gleisi Hoffmann (PR), downplayed, this Thursday (8), the possibility that the PEC of the Transition will face more difficulty in dealing with the Chamber.

“The times I was with President Lira, accompanying President Lula, he was very emphatic in saying that whatever came from the Senate to the Chamber would respond at the height, he would approve,” he said.