BRASÍLIA (Reuters) – President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva met with the president of the Chamber, Arthur Lira (PP-AL), to discuss the government’s relationship with the deputies, aiming at the reform agenda that the Executive Power wants to forward and approve in Congress this year, sources with knowledge of the matter told Reuters.
Lira attended a dinner with Lula at the home of licensed federal deputy and current Minister of the Social Communication Secretariat, Paulo Pimenta (PT-RS), in Brasília on Thursday.
The meeting of both took place days after the president of the Chamber said in a public event that the government still does not have a consistent basis nor “to face matters of simple majority” and, therefore, does not have support at the moment to approve the tax reform. , seen as vital –alongside the so-called fiscal anchor to replace the spending cap– for Lula’s third term.
Lira openly stated that the government alone does not have the endorsement of at least 308 of the 513 federal deputies, the minimum required to approve constitutional changes. Lira’s support — re-elected for another two years in command of the Chamber with a record vote, of more than 400 votes — would be fundamental for the advancement of these priorities of the Executive in the House, not to mention more tranquility to endorse a series of Provisional Measures waiting for vote.
Lula and Lira did not make public statements after Thursday’s dinner, but an important PT parliamentarian who is in contact with the mayor said, privately, that Lira is on good terms with the new government and did not see his speech as a threat, but a notice to the new management.
He also stated that Lira has strengthened relations with the government through the Minister of Institutional Relations, Alexandre Padilha, and with the leader of the government in the Chamber, José Guimarães (PT-CE).
This source added that Lira does not want to be taken by surprise with the government’s actions in Congress and is willing to act in concert.
Another source in the Chamber informed that Lula would have invited the president of the Chamber to accompany him on his official visit to China. Sought, Lira’s advisory did not comment on the matter.
The mayor, who in the last election defended and publicly supported the re-election of then-president Jair Bolsonaro, was the first public authority to recognize Lula’s victory in the second round. After a tenure of extreme power with expanded control over the budget because of the increased use of the so-called secret budget (rapporteur’s amendments), Lira now calibrates the firepower with the new administration and the new design of the mechanism that allocates funds.
Deputy Reginaldo Lopes (PT-MG) told Reuters that the meeting between Lula and Lira at dinner served to adjust the relationship and build necessary convergences to approve the government’s reform agenda in the Chamber, notably the tax reform and the fiscal anchor.
Lopes did not participate in the meeting, but he has a good relationship with Lira, he was chosen as coordinator of the group and work of the Chamber for tax reform.
Lopes stated that he believes in the approval of the two reforms. “The tax reform proposal is as much a priority for Lira as it is for Lula”, he pointed out.
The parliamentarian’s expectation is that the text of the reform will be presented on May 16, which would allow the vote on the initiative to be discussed later in plenary.
In turn, the government should forward the proposal for a new fiscal anchor later this month, thus anticipating by a few months the previous expectation of sending the text until August this year.
(Reporting by Ricardo Brito, Lisandra Paraguassu and Maria Carolina Marcello. Editing by Flávia Marreiro)