Lula arrived in RS with a delegation willing to release Union resources for the State, devastated by the floods
The president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) returned this Sunday (May 5, 2024) to Rio Grande do Sul with a delegation of around 20 people with members of the Three Powers willing to release Union resources for the State, devastated by the biggest flood in history.
The common objective is to create an extraordinary legal regime that puts an end to bureaucracy and makes the sending of resources from the Union to the government of Rio Grande do Sul more flexible. The idea is to enable a “War budget”, mentioned several times by the governor of Rio Grande do Sul, Eduardo Leite (PSDB). The toucan also suggested a “Marshall Plan” – aid from the United States to European countries destroyed by the Second World War (1939-1945).
According to the former director of the IFI (Independent Fiscal Institution) and chief economist at Ryo Asset, Gabriel Leal Barros, there is no doubt that the federal government needs to help Rio Grande do Sul.
“The question is how [ajudar]. If it is via extraordinary credit, it will be within the rules of the game. Now, if they invent some scarecrow, create some escape valve for the fiscal rule, there is a risk that the Executive will lose control of public accounts for good”he stated.
If the path is a PEC (Proposed Amendment to the Constitution), as has already been suggested, economist Leal said that the risk is even greater. “A PEC overrides the complementary law of the fiscal framework. It will further weaken the fiscal framework”he stated.
On Wednesday (May 8), the special commission to analyze PEC 44 of 2023, which reserves 5% of congressmen’s individual amendments to face catastrophes and natural emergencies, will be installed. The call was made by Lira after the start of heavy rains in the South.
Due to the size and power of Lula’s entourage, the articulation is great. The president arrived in the State accompanied by 13 of the 38 ministers. The presidents of the Senate, Rodrigo Pacheco (PSD-MG), from the Chamber, Arthur Lira (PP-AL), from the TCU (Federal Audit Court), Bruno Dantas, and the vice-president of the STF (Supreme Federal Court), Edson Fachin, were also there.
A delegation met with the governor of Rio Grande do Sul and the mayor of Porto Alegre, Sebastião Melo (MDB), and heard the details of the biggest disaster in the history of Rio Grande do Sul. The storms killed 78 people and affected 336 of the 497 municipalities in Rio Grande do Sul, according to the Civil Defense bulletin released at 6pm this Sunday (May 5).
There is no way to leave the State via Salgado Filho International Airport, closed until Friday (May 10), nor via any of the more than 150 blocked or destroyed roads. In the capital, 70% of residents lack water. Inside, there is a lack of energy and communication. The supply of oxygen tanks in hospitals is impaired and the water system is compromised, as stated by the Minister of Regional Development, Waldez Góes.
EGO DISPUTE
Faced with this calamity, the politicians of the Three Powers, who until last week were involved in small ego disputes, decided to leave the raids aside, despite a jab from the presidentand mobilized for a solution to the scenario in Rio Grande do Sul.
Lula said that there will be no shortage of money for the State, under a recovery regimetax and with spending limits due to the debt with the Union, R$3.5 billion.
“If each deputy releases amendments for Rio Grande do Sul, it will be a few million”, said the president.
Lira stated that the “This week will be a lot of work in the National Congress and the response will be tough, firm and effective, as it was during the pandemic”.
Pacheco said Congress will define rules for the release of amendments to senators and federal deputies from Rio Grande do Sul. The congressman also stated that it will be necessary “take bureaucracy off the table” to deal with the recovery of the State.
“It’s up to us, president Arthur Lira, let us define the rules of complementary law, ordinary laws, of Proposed Amendments to the Constitution that we can make within the scope of the Brazilian Parliament so that this [liberação de emendas] be done with the legal security of the public agents who will execute them”, he stated.
