Lack of agreement on budget may hold up parliamentary recess

Congress is supposed to go into recess this week, but without an agreement on the Budgetary Guidelines Law (“Lei de Diretrizes Orçamentárias – LDO”), that will not be possible [both the recess and the need to pass the LDO before the recess are in the constitution].

Opposition parties, led by the DEM, with support from the PDT, have been obstructing votes, demanding the liberation of congressional earmarks (“emendas parlamentares”) and late payments (“restos a pagar”) that have been pending since last year.

The final report (text) of the LDO was presented by senator Antonio Carlos Valadares (PSB-SE), but has to be approved by the Joint Budget Committee and, after that, in a floor vote (“plenário”).

Last week, leaders of the government and the opposition attempted to reach an agreement that would permit votes on the LDO and two temporary measures (“medidas provisórias”) that are part of a stimulus package for the manufacturing sector.

Because of the impasse, the president of the Chamber of Deputies, Marco Maia (PT-RS), has convoked extraordinary sessions for today and tomorrow (Monday and Tuesday, July 16 and 17) and promised that he will not accept absences without good excuses (“justificativas procedentes”).

 According to Maia, if the temprorary measures are allowed to expire the industrial sector will have losses of R$10 billion (the measures reduce taxes).

The opposition accuses the government of using earmarks as “election tools” (“instrumentos eleitorais”) and calls on the government to keep a promise they say was made to release R$1 million in earmarks for projects in the area of health to each member of Congress, plus an additional R$1.5 million for other projects, besides the restos a pagar.

“We are not demanding anything or making any proposals. The government said they would do all this, and it is the government that has not kept its word,” declared the vice leader of the Dem, deputy Ronaldo Caiado.