Lula da Silva last week in Sao Paulo. CARLA CARNIEL (REUTERS)
Brazil’s President-elect Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has reason to start the week with relief: On Monday, Brazil’s judiciary ended one of its biggest concerns when it comes to governing from January 1: ending com became the so-called “secret budget” that regulates the National Congress, a highly opaque mechanism that in practice serves to buy votes. Since the election campaign, Lula has been defending that this instrument needs to be adapted: “It cannot go on like this, I think everyone understands that,” he said a few days ago.
The “secret budget,” as the so-called reporting amendments are colloquially referred to, consists of allocating a portion of the state’s resources to meet the demands of senators and congressmen without disclosing their names. This money is usually used to finance works (a hospital, a school, a highway…) in the region where each MP is based, increasing their chances of re-election. There are no clear criteria: the money does not go where the government considers it a priority, but where the congressional budget officer decides, leaving room for all sorts of interest games.
A large part of the state budget is confiscated by parliamentarians without knowing where it goes, which also leaves little room for maneuver for the government. In the years of Jair Bolsonaro, this mysterious budget averaged 26.1 billion reais (almost 5 billion dollars, more than 4.6 billion euros) per year. The organization Transparency International called it “the largest institutionalized system of corruption in history”.
Although the changes are initially legal and have been around for a long time, their dark version, in which the parliamentarian or the allocation of resources is not known, began in 2020 and has been fundamental in the relationship between Bolsonaro’s government and the Congress . and favored its governance. The mayor, Arthur Lira, an ally of the far-right leader, showered dozens of parliamentarians with these resources, facilitating the approval of projects of interest to the government.
The entire network is gone, at least for now. The federal court, contested by leftist parties but not by Lula’s PT, decided to declare the instrument unconstitutional, bringing a breath of fresh air to Lula and Lira’s defeat. Bolsonaro’s former almighty ally loses his key negotiating tool, he will no longer be able to blackmail Lula by demanding to keep the “secret budget” in exchange for a majority that will allow him to increase government spending beyond what the new president wants.
And here comes the second mantle of the STF of the future Lula government. The next president has been engaged in very tough negotiations for weeks with congressmen so that they will allow him to break the so-called spending ceiling and thus fulfill one of his most important campaign promises: the increase in the Bolsa Família payment, the payment of 600 reais ($113). , 106 euros per month) for the poorest families. It is a lot of money for the state treasury (70,000 million reais per year, 11,200 million euros or 13,000 million dollars) and nowadays the team of the future government is seeking support to change the constitution to make it possible, but suddenly, Judge Gilmar Mendes brought more good news for Lula: Bolsa Família can be invoiced outside the expenditure ceiling, outside the official budget.
The surprising and widely criticized decision, which they see as judicial interference in political affairs, secures the future of prosperity. Now, with less pressure, Lula can negotiate support in Congress without having to promise the center or center-right parties, the so-called Centrão, key ministries that will only offer support in exchange for power shares.
Future economy minister Fernando Haddad said on Monday that despite the court decision, the families will continue to negotiate with Congress: “It is important that the country bet on good policies and institutions to give stability to the economic policies we to announce. that they will calm tempers and show that Brazil is on the right track from January 1,” he said. The new cabinet will take office on New Year’s Day, but for now we have to wait. Lula has barely announced seven of the more than 30 ministers who will accompany him to Brasília. Court rulings could help cut the knot and ease the Allies’ place in the future government.
Source: La Neta Neta
Karen Clayton is a seasoned journalist and author at The Nation Update, with a focus on world news and current events. She has a background in international relations, which gives her a deep understanding of the political, economic and social factors that shape the global landscape. She writes about a wide range of topics, including conflicts, political upheavals, and economic trends, as well as humanitarian crisis and human rights issues.
