The Labor leader says he is willing to make a ‘break’ to win the election

There must be a budget deficit next year if necessary, said the head of government in the Chamber, José Guimarães (PT-CE), on Saturday the 9th of this month. The MP believed that striving to achieve the goal of eliminating the deficit in public accounts might lead to the party losing the municipal elections. He also defended the need to “mobilize militancy well” for the party to emerge victorious in the mayoral dispute in 2024.

Guimarães spoke for about 15 minutes during a panel discussion at the Workers’ Party’s electoral conference in Brasilia. “I was just there talking with Chairman Glee (Hoffman). If we have to run a deficit, we’re going to have to do it. Because otherwise we’re not going to win the election in 2024.”

Guimarães’ speech reflects an assessment in Labor that the government may have to allocate resources (pre-emptively) from parliamentary amendments and investments from the Accelerator Program (PAC) to meet next year’s fiscal target, which would hurt sending money to Labor. Allies in municipalities.

At the same event, Djalisi and Finance Minister Fernando Haddad disagreed over the direction of the government’s economic policy. After the Labor Party leader criticized the goal of ending the financial gap, the head of the economic team said that it was “not true” that deficits in public accounts generate growth. “There is no such correspondence, this is not how the economy works,” Haddad said. The Labor Party leader’s speech sparked negative reactions from economists and government opponents.

The dispute within the government over the fiscal target intensified at the end of October, when Lula said that it would be “barely” difficult for the government to close the gap in public accounts in 2024. In light of this statement, the Minister of Civil Affairs and Zad House, Rui Costa, pushing for the target to be changed to a 0.50% deficit next year.

But Haddad succeeded in convincing the President of the Republic to maintain the zero target until at least March, while he tries to approve projects in Congress that will increase revenues.

José Guimarães stated that the party needed “good mobilization”. “It is clear that Lula’s government has a very big financial responsibility. Everyone knows that. Now, we have a problem,” Guimarães declared, at the Workers’ Party’s electoral congress.

At the same event, Institutional Relations Minister Alexandre Padilha, who is responsible for the government’s political coordination with Congress, said that PT’s big win in the 2024 municipal elections is “decisive” in trying to change the balance of power in the legislature in 2024. Conflict 2026

“Today, with the way the political dispute is being carried out, the budget organisation, I have no doubt that the far right is looking to the municipal elections seeking to emerge leaders to compete for the federal government in three years, to compete in state elections, strengthening their relationship with Mayors.

Padilha added: “I have no doubt that if we want to change the reality of the National Congress, and help Guimarães in life in the House of Representatives, we have to think about these elections in this way, to achieve an electoral political victory.” .

“If we have to run a deficit, we will have to do it. Otherwise we will not win the elections in 2024” – José Guimarães, government leader in the Council.

Guimarães was in the same line as the minister. He declared: “We have to connect the years 2024 and 2026, to reach 2026 with the re-election of Lula and change the balance of power between the Senate and the Federal Chamber.”

The first prosecutor general of Lula’s government rated it as “victorious.” “We ended the year with the government and Brazil standing,” he said. “I don’t even know how we (Alexandre) Padilha agreed on so many things in the room. When I saw defeat in front of me, at home, when I spoke to Padilha, with President Lula, we became stronger.

Throughout this first government, Lula faced a series of political discontent with the Centrao Parties, a center-right political group that dominated Congress. Representatives and senators demanded more flexibility in issuing parliamentary amendments and demanded the appointment of allies to positions in the executive authority. In May, the government was defeated in its attempt to change the sanitation framework and the fake news bill.

As Estadão/Broadcast has shown, Congress is asking the government for R$6 billion – R$4 billion in additional resources for representatives and R$2 billion for senators later this year – in additional resources to unlock the economic agenda.

The interim action report on ICMS support will be presented and read on Wednesday 6th, but it ended up being postponed to next week. A sports betting bill has also been delayed until next week in the Senate, while tax reform awaits an outcome in the House of Representatives.

On Friday the 8th of this month, the Workers’ Party approved the initial version of the political resolution criticizing Centrão. “The conservative and physiological forces of the so-called Centrao, reinforced by the absurd rule of budgetary imposition in the presidential system, exert a disproportionate influence on the legislative and executive branches, delaying, embarrassing and even attempting to distort the political agenda victorious in the presidential elections,” an excerpt from document.

To approve his agenda in Congress, Lula made a series of cabinet changes throughout the year to include the Centrao parties in the park. The government’s alliance with this political group included the transfer of Andrej Vuvoka (Popular Party) to the Ministry of Sports and Silvio Costa Filho (Republicans) to the ports and airports.

Furthermore, the presidency of the Caixa Econômica Federation was assumed by Carlos Antonio Vieira Fernández, appointed by the president of the chamber, Arthur Lira (PP-AL). The leadership of the National Health Foundation (Funasa) is also under negotiation.

At the conference, Padilha also defended that the PT union with PCdoB and PV, led by PT members, welcomes members from other parties who want to be part of their ranks. “This is not the time to do doctoring with someone who is embarrassed [em apoiar o governo Lula antes]”, said the Minister. Moreover, he stated that it was necessary to enter into political disputes with the Bolsonarians in the municipalities.

Source: Estadão.