Opposition to appeal to STF against approval of government spending cap

After the constitution amendment of 20-year government spending cap was approved, some opposition members said they will appeal to the Federal Supreme Court (STF).

For Senator Humberto Costa, leader of the Workers' Party (PT) at the Senate, this amendment is unconstitutional because "it interferes with the other powers, which are independent and autonomous, and also attacks the article of the Constitution that prevents social rights from regressing. Then, our next step is to request an action for the declaration of unconstitutionality against this constitution amendment bill."

Earlier, Senator Gleisi Hoffmann, member of the PT, and Senator Vanessa Graziotin, member of the Communist Party of Brazil (PcdoB), made a request to the STF to interrupt the voting of the bill, which is also known as the government spending cap, on the grounds that the period between both rounds of voting should not include extraordinary sessions, as it happened. However, Justice Luis Roberto Barroso rejected the request.

Direct elections

The opposition senators also called for President Michel Temer's resignation and for direct elections. According to Costa, at the meeting of the opposition parties on Tuesday morning, opposition members decided that they would not vote for the constitution amendment, nor any other bill without adopting a position on the political crisis, referring to the release of the plea bargain statements made by Odebrecht employees naming members of the government.

"These allegation, whether true or not, reached the heart of the government and of the president of the Republic himself. If this government already lacked legitimacy, as it came to power after a political trial, not a constitutional trial, now that many members of the government's cabinet are at the center of allegations, and that the government's popularity plummeted, the only way out for the country is to elect a new government, a representative from the will of the majority," Costa said.

The opposition defends a change in the constitution to call for direct elections next year. Under the constitutional text, if the president and vice-presidents are ousted in the last two years of their term of office, the Congress must call elections in 30 days after the last vacancy is created, in this case, the vice president.

The proposal for new elections was also defended by Senator Ronaldo Caiado, member of the Democrats (DEM) and member of the government's coalition. "The national situation is very serious and grave. We cannot make a poker face as if there's nothing happening. At this moment, has the Congress any credibility to legislate? Has the government any credibility to govern? If they do not have it, society has to be able to re-elect them again.”

In a note, the PPS party, member of the government's coalition, said that "moments of crisis require unity on behalf of the country, of the Brazilians interests. The situation shall not be given as a justification for threats and even for blackmailing aiming at taking more power. In fact, blackmail is something that should have been swept away from politics," said Deputy Rubens Bueno, leader of the party at the lower house. For the lawmaker, it is a moment to overcome the crisis. "We have a transitional government with a primary mission of adopting some fundamental measures to overcome the economic crisis that is affecting the lives of millions of Brazilians, like the social security reform. This government is not the savior of the motherland. We knew that when we approved the president's impeachment. Thus, we should not take steps to further aggravate the crisis."

Translated by Amarílis Anchieta

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