Mourão contradicts Bolsonaro and says that the STF’s decision on amendments was timely

Contrary to president Jair Bolsonaro (no party), deputy Hamilton Mourão (PRTB) praised, on Wednesday (10), the decision of the majority of the STF (Supreme Court) to suspend payment of parliamentary amendments controlled by the general rapporteur of the Budget.

Mourão classified the measure taken by Minister Rosa Weber —and followed by seven other members of the Supreme Court— as timely. He also stated that the way in which the rapporteur’s amendments were being carried out did not respect principles of public administration.

“I think the principles of public administration [de] legality, impersonality, morality, publicity and efficiency were not being respected in this form of budget execution. So I think the STF intervention was opportune,” declared Mourão.

“I think you have to give maximum publicity, it’s a principle of public administration, combined with efficiency. I can’t send a resource to a place where I don’t know how it will be spent. If the money were mine, I would it could even tear. But the money is not mine, it belongs to each one of us who pays taxes and contributes so that the government can support itself.”

Minister Rosa Weber decided to suspend payment of the rapporteur’s amendments on November 5th.
These amendments have been handled by government officials with the support of the Planalto Palace on the eve of important votes for the Executive.

Before the approval of the PEC dos Precatórios, for example, R$ 1 billion was released in amendments of this nature. This proposal allows for the expansion of public spending and makes possible the expansion of Auxílio Brasil, promised by President Jair Bolsonaro in an election year.

Ministers Luís Roberto Barroso, Edson Fachin, Carmen Lúcia, Ricardo Lewandowski, Alexandre de Moraes, Dias Toffoli and Luiz Fux voted to maintain Rosa Weber’s decision.

The STF decision has the potential to trigger a crisis and pit the Supreme, Legislative and Executive.

By a majority formed, the execution of these amendments shall be suspended “in full and immediately”. In addition, Congress is expected to give “wide publicity, in a centralized public access platform”, to all documents related to the distribution of these funds in 2020 and 2021.

In Rosa Weber’s understanding, there is no transparency in the transfer of these amendments and, therefore, they violate the constitutional principles of “legality, impersonality, morality, publicity and efficiency”. Rapporteur amendments represented the government’s main bargaining chip in important congressional votes.

Mourão’s speech conflicts with the opinion already expressed by Bolsonaro.

In an interview broadcast on Monday (8), the representative stated that the arguments used by Rosa “are not fair” and that there is no “bargain” in releasing these amendments.

“Now, the arguments used by the rapporteur of the Supreme Court are not fair, to say that we are bargaining. How can I bargain if who owns the pen is the rapporteur, a congressman? And it isn’t [orçamento] secret because it is in the Official Gazette of the Union,” Bolsonaro told Jovem Pan.