Senate approves base text of Spending PEC in 1st round

The Senate approved on the night of this Wednesday (21) and in the first round the base text of the PEC (proposed amendment to the Constitution) of Spending, which expands the spending ceiling for one year for the fulfillment of promises of the elected president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT).

In addition to relieving pressure on the Budget, the text facilitates the way for Lula to review the spending ceiling, criticized by him and the PT.

The score for the first round was 66 votes in favor and 11 against. The text can still be highlighted and changed, and needs to be voted on in the second round before being sent to be enacted.

The device allows the new government to launch a new fiscal framework through a complementary bill, whose approval is simpler – it needs fewer votes than a PEC (as the spending ceiling was approved).

The Gastança PEC expands the spending ceiling by R$ 145 billion next year. The text also authorizes BRL 23 billion in investments outside the fiscal rule – the amount refers to the excess revenue that the government had in the previous year.

With the space on the ceiling, the elected government intends to pay the BRL 600 Bolsa Família plus BRL 150 for each family with children up to six years old.

Voting on the PEC in the Chamber began on Tuesday (20), after an agreement between deputies and Lula’s allies, with voting in the first round. This Wednesday, the second round was held, and the proposal was approved by 331 to 163. No highlight (suggestion of punctual change in the text) was approved.

The conclusion was made possible after the mayor, Arthur Lira (PP-AL), reached an agreement with the Republicans to avoid a new dehydration of the PEC.

Parties such as PSDB and Citizenship, which had supported the PEC, were in favor of the highlight. The central argument is that the device weakens the process of choosing fiscal anchors and makes it easier for the future PT government to get rid of the spending ceiling.

To avoid the setback, Lira suspended the Chamber session on Tuesday (20) after voting on the text in the first round and started a negotiation so that the Republicans, who voted against the PEC in the first round, would not support the highlight.

Lula’s assistants then resumed articulation with the party. The president of the Republicans, deputy Marcos Pereira (SP), was contacted by deputy José Guimarães (PT-CE), by senator Jaques Wagner (PT-BA), in addition to the future Minister of Finance, Fernando Haddad.

The party complained about the lack of dialogue with representatives of the elected president, who negotiates space in the new government with other acronyms. The plan is to expand articulation with the Republicans, leaving the door open so that, in the future, the party can stop being independent and become Lula’s base.

In the vote for the highlight, 40 parliamentarians of the acronym were against the highlight of Novo, which ended up overthrown by 366 to 130.

Therefore, the device that provides that the Executive will send a new proposal for a fiscal rule by August 31, 2023 was maintained. When this new rule is approved (by complementary bill), the current ceiling will be revoked from the Constitution.

The future Minister of Finance, Fernando Haddad (PT), said this Wednesday (21), after the approval of the Spending PEC, that he intends to send Congress a proposal for a new “good, consistent and viable” fiscal framework in the first half of the year. from 2023.