Minister: presidency not to meddle in party's decision on lower house speaker
Edinho Silva, the head of the Communications Secretariat of the Presidency, 
Edinho Silva, the head of the Communications Secretariat of the Presidency, said Monday (Nov. 23) that the complaints filed against Lower House Speaker Eduardo Cunha (member of the Brazilian Movement Democratic Party—PMDB) being processed at the Ethics Committee is an issue concerning the Legislative branch alone and "it is not the government's business."
About the stance adopted by deputies members of the Workers' Party (PT) that did not attend the committee's session on Thursday (Nov. 19) so that the quorum would not be reached for presenting the report against Cunha, Edinho Silva said that the presidency does not meddle in the party bench's decision.
"President Dilma Rousseff coalition is formed by the PT and other parties. The PT [congressmen] have full autonomy to take up their stances within the legislative branch. "
Lower House Speaker Eduardo Cunha
According to the minister, the government is holding dialogue with Cunha and all the deputies in Congress to ensure that some measures are adopted for the country to recover growth. "We will continue to hold dialogue so that we can agree on an agenda defending Brazil's interest, which is, at the moment, to recover economic growth." In the list of government interest projects that must be approved by Congress is to bring back the CPMF tax (Provisional Tax on Financial Transactions).
The debate on bills submitted to the lower house has been under threat since members of several parties protested against Eduardo Cunha's presidency of the house. Some parties—like PPS, PSOL, and Rede—promised not vote in sessions led by the member of the PMDB.
The Chairman of the Ethics, José Carlos Araújo, rescheduled the voting to Tuesday (Nov. 24) to read the preliminary report presented by Deputy Fausto Pinato recommending the continuity of the process against Eduardo Cunha.
*With additional reporting by Carolina Gonçalves
Translated by Amarílis Anchieta
Fonte: Minister: presidency not to meddle in party's decision on lower house speaker
