The opposition started a movement to try to remove the state of emergency from the PEC (Proposed Amendment to the Constitution) of Fuels, which grants a series of social benefits on the eve of the October election. The vote on the matter in the Senate floor is scheduled for this Thursday (30), after being postponed on Wednesday (29).
Oppositionists argue that the declaration of a state of emergency, provided for in the PEC to shield the President of the Republic, Jair Bolsonaro (PL), from possible sanctions under the Electoral Law, is not supported by the current legal framework.
The text of the amendment, filed by Senator Jean Paul Prates (PT-RN), leader of the Minority in the Senate, also says that there may be uncertainty about the exact extent of the state of emergency.
It is up to the rapporteur of the proposal, senator Fernando Bezerra Coelho (MDB-PE), to decide whether or not to accept the suggestion, but the PT senator can ask for the amendment to be highlighted for a vote separately from the basic text of the PEC.
On Wednesday, the vote was postponed by Senate President Rodrigo Pacheco (PSD-MG), after the opposition asked for more time to analyze the extension of the state of emergency.
Bezerra stated that he will remove from the text the part that caused doubt. “The non-application of any fence or restriction provided for in a rule of any nature”, read the passage, seen by oppositionists as a “carte blanche” for the government to spend whatever it wants during the election period.
Less than 100 days before the elections, Congress and Planalto acted to further expand the “package of despair”, as the measures that are being adopted to face the rise in fuel prices have been dubbed behind the scenes by technicians.
The fiscal impact of the PEC went from R$ 34.8 billion to R$ 38.75 billion outside the spending ceiling – the rule that limits the growth of government expenditures. Senators are still trying to increase the amount of spending.
The measures, which include zeroing out the queue and raising the Auxílio Brasil amount to R$600, granting a “truck allowance” of R$1,000 per month and doubling the gas voucher to low-income families, would only be valid until the end this year. The legislation prevents, under normal circumstances, the expansion or adoption of benefits in an election year, except in the case of a state of emergency or calamity.
