Centão resumes pressure for diesel subsidy to reduce Bolsonaro’s wear and tear

Leaders from the center have resumed the pressure for a diesel subsidy to try to avoid further erosion of the image of President Jair Bolsonaro (PL) amid the rise in prices in the country.

According to data from the ANP (National Petroleum Agency), the price of fuel increased by almost 50% in one year and reached a new record.

On Monday (12), Petrobras announced a readjustment of 8.87% of diesel, triggering a new wave of pressure on the government for measures.

Two days later, economist Adolfo Sachsida replaced Admiral Bento Albuquerque in charge of the Ministry of Mines and Energy.

The exchange did not have the effect of calming the spirits of truck drivers who, affected by the increase in diesel, continue with demonstrations and threatening stoppages until there is a solution that minimizes final consumer spending.

The need to award a subsidy was discussed at a recent meeting of House leaders, and the discussion is expected to deepen in the coming weeks.

If there is no direct exit via the government, deputies from central parties — such as the PL, PP and Republicans —, who support Bolsonaro’s re-election, defend the approval of a project that guarantees the benefit of various types of fuel, including gasoline.

While he does not find a way out to alleviate the pressure of the highs, Bolsonaro has criticized Petrobras’ pricing policy and has already said that the company’s R$44.5 billion profit in the first quarter of this year is “rape” and “absurdity”. “.

This Friday (13), Minister André Mendonça, of the Federal Supreme Court (STF), responded to a request from the president and suspended, in an injunction, the states’ maneuver on the diesel ICMS. The government questions, in the action, disrespect for the law that established a single ICMS rate for all states. In practice, after a decision by Confaz (National Council for Finance Policy), there was no change in the amount charged by state governments, which have been recording ICMS tax collection records on fuel.

According to members of the core of Bolsonaro’s campaign, there is pressure even from wing of the government for the Ministry of Economy to find a way out that generates an impact at the end. The most cited way out in this case is the granting of subsidies.

The problem is that Paulo Guedes (Economy) and his team continue to resist, on the grounds that there is no space in the expenditure ceiling for the measure and that the practical impact would be minimal.

In addition, there is a problem linked to the electoral law, which prevents the creation of new benefits in the year of the elections.

Therefore, initially, the fact that Sachsida was a person Guedes trusted displeased centrão leaders, for fear that there would be resistance to the mobilization in favor of the emergency measure to try to mitigate inflation.

But the expectation of party leaders is that now, in political office, Sachsida will be more sensitive to arguments that it is necessary to minimize the risk of a crisis with truck drivers and the consequences of inflation in a year in which the president is seeking re-election.

The assessment is that, if there is no articulation to approve the subsidy for diesel now, there is a risk that the rise in prices will harm the president’s campaign.

For the leader of a large centrão party, heard in reserve, there needs to be more proactivity in government actions, especially since it is in the interest of the president himself and because it is a topic that has a strong electoral impact. If it doesn’t, “it’s going to be a problem,” in the words of one of the leaders.

Initially, the idea defended in Congress would be to limit the benefit to diesel, due to pressure from truck drivers, while supporters of the president try to demobilize the protests. In 2018, a strike by the category had a negative impact on the country’s GDP (Gross Domestic Product) growth.

Leaders defend actions that include app drivers

Some leaders, however, have already advocated broader action that extends from aviation to app drivers.

A proposal in this sense has already been presented by deputy Christino Aureo (PP-RJ). The idea is to expand the Auxílio-Gás, created in November last year, to other fuels.

In addition, it includes among the beneficiaries of the program families that have among their members residing in the same household the self-employed professionals of individual transport, truck drivers, taxi drivers, app drivers, small boat drivers, app motorcyclists and the family farmer and rural family entrepreneur. .

“As the price spiral is not going to cool down, the last option is to do nothing. It is necessary to make use of everything possible in the short term”, says the deputy.

The discussion is not new. In March, Lira defended the creation of a temporary subsidy that would help to minimize the impact of the fuel increase in the country.

“It is important for the government to be focused on this. The two Houses [Câmara e Senado] are worried about it. All of Brazil is worried about this, and, for sure, we will find a solution,” she said.

At the time, he also defended that the benefit was intended for other categories.

In March, Guedes even admitted for the first time the possibility of a subsidy program. But he conditioned that possibility to the scenario in which the war between Russia and Ukraine lasted longer. The war continued, but the minister remains against the idea of ​​granting the subsidy.

“If that [guerra] resolved in 30 or 60 days, the crisis would be more or less addressed. Now, is this going to rush and turn into an escalation? Then you start thinking about subsidy for diesel”, said the minister.

The new Minister of Mines and Energy also gave no sign that he could embrace the idea of ​​the subsidy.

In a statement earlier this week, Sachsida did not directly cite the fuel price situation, although he did mention “geopolitical challenges”.

To tackle the problems, the new minister defended the adoption of structural measures and said he had “100%” Bolsonaro’s support and endorsement. “One-off measures have little or no impact, or the opposite impact than desired,” he warned, without explicitly mentioning requests for fuel subsidies.