I hope he’s smart to help with PEC, says Lula about Haddad’s announcement at the Farm

President-elect Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) said this Friday (9) that he hopes that the announcement of Fernando Haddad (PT) as the future finance minister will help in the processing of the PEC (proposed amendment to the Constitution) of the Transition in the Chamber .

“I hope you’re smart to help [na tramitação da PEC]🇧🇷 I expect. If it were to get in the way, I wouldn’t be nominated,” Lula said in an interview to the press about Haddad’s choice.

Parliamentarians complained about the PT’s delay in announcing who would lead the portfolio responsible for the economy. Deputies and senators demanded from Lula the definition of the name with which they could negotiate terms of the PEC and later demand agreements, since the person would be sitting in the minister’s chair.

The text, which was approved this week by the Senate, increases the spending ceiling by BRL 145 billion in 2023 and 2024 for the payment of the Auxílio Brasil (which will once again be called Bolsa Família) and releases BRL 23 billion for investments outside the ceiling in case of collection of extraordinary income, in addition to containing other measures.

Although it was approved by a comfortable score —64 votes in favor, when 49 were needed —, the scenario for approval in the Chamber is more nebulous because deputies defend some changes.

Lira had stated to Lula that the Chamber would approve the text that came out of the Senate, without alterations, but a wing of the centrão insists on reducing the period from two years to one year. The pressure comes mainly from the parties that support President Jair Bolsonaro (PL) – Republicans, Progressives and PL, in addition to União Brasil.

In addition, the possibility that the STF (Federal Supreme Court) will end the rapporteur’s amendments in judgment under analysis by the court also worsened the climate in the House.

The fear of the proposal being dehydrated led Lula and PT members to enter the field to tell Lira that the party has no relation to the ongoing trial at the Supreme Court.

“I’ve already heard rumors that the PEC will have a problem in the Chamber of Deputies. I don’t believe it. I will hold as many conversations as necessary for the PEC to be approved in the Chamber of Deputies in the same way that it was approved in an extraordinary way by 64 votes in the Senate” , said Lula.

“I hope people understand that this PEC is not for the Lula government, this PEC is to repair President Bolsonaro’s budget and so that we can guarantee the minimum necessary for the most needy people in this country”, continued the president.

Lula also stated that the process of amending the rapporteur is at the Supreme Court before the elections and that, therefore, it would be discussed at some point.

“If it’s in the supreme court, at some point they’re going to rule. And I honestly don’t have any interference yet and no interference power in the supreme court to defend when and how they’re going to vote. It’s up to the court to make the decision to vote,” commented Lula.

The president-elect also said he was a supporter of parliamentary amendments, but said they “need not be secret”.

“The deputy’s amendment, it can be a very important amendment if it is coupled to the government’s budget and the government’s preferential works. And who decides to release the amendment is actually the executive branch.”

“President Lira knows that I think that. If there is any problem, we will talk. I have already talked twice with President Lira, with President Rodrigo Pacheco and if it is necessary to talk ten times, I will talk ten times so that we can can do what is best for the Brazilian people at the beginning of our government. I am very calm”, concluded Lula.

In the first trial session of the so-called rapporteur amendments, used as a bargaining chip in political negotiations between Planalto and Congress, the AGU (Advocacia-Geral da União) defended to the STF (Federal Supreme Court) that the instrument is constitutional.