The new Legislature, however, is more right-wing and conservative than the previous one, with a lot of Bolsonarism influence.
After frantic alliances and agreements, the presidents of the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies, Rodrigo Pacheco and Arthur Lira, were re-elected in Brazil, which means a victory for the government of Luiz Inacio Lula da Silvawho had deposited all his letters in his candidacies.
The support of both – whose positions are renewed every two years – is decisive for the patriarch of the left, since otherwise it would be Impossible to carry out your proposals. Among other things, the presidents of the House and the Senate can expedite, shelve or ignore the processing of bills. The House leader also decides whether or not he accepts the impeachment requests.
In his address, after his victory, Pacheco, 46 years old and from the Social Democratic Party (PSD), emphasized the fight against hate speech in the context of the assault by radical Bolsonarists on the headquarters of the three powers, last 8 from January.
“Hate speech, lying speech, coup speech must be discouraged, denied and fought,” said the senator, who assured that “the toxic polarization needs to be eradicated” in the country.
The government actively mobilized until the last minute to prevent Bolsonarismo from triumphing in the Senate at the hands of Rogerio Marinho, of the Liberal Party (PL) and former Minister of Regional Development in the Jair Bolsonaro administration.
The PL, the formation with which the ultra-rightist appeared in the elections, will represent the first force both in the Chamber (99 of the 513 deputies) and in the Senate (13 of the 81 senators).
Elected by 49 –compared to Marinho’s 32–, Pachecho’s victory is a demonstration of power for Lula, just one month before the start of a term marked by the biggest assault on democracy since the dictatorship.
The result also means a tepid defeat for Bolsonarismo, which until the last minute tried to achieve the victory of his signing. According to Folha de Sao Paulo, Bolsonaro called and sent messages from the US, where he has been since December, in an attempt to get votes for his ally, and his wife, Michelle Bolsonaro, was present at the session to ask for votes in favor of Marinho.
Pacheco reached the presidency of the Senate two years ago with the support of Bolsonaro, but their relationship deteriorated when he refused in August 2021 to carry out an impeachment request – signed by the former president himself – against the Supreme Court judge, Alexandre de Moraes, one of the staunchest enemies of the far-right.
“No big surprises”
For his part, Lira, a 53-year-old ally of Bolsonaro, was re-elected as leader in the Lower House with 464 of 513 votes without great surprises, which he achieved after achieving alliances with 21 of the 23 parties with parliamentary representation.
Lira is a member of what is known as ‘Centrao’, an influential group of conservative parties in Congress, known for negotiating their support for the government of the day in exchange for positions.
“In this Brazil there is no longer a place for those who attack the Powers, which symbolize our democracy. This Chamber will not accept, defend or support any act, speech or demonstration that threatens democracy,” he stressed in his speech.
For his part, Lula called both leaders to congratulate them on their re-election. “I wish you good management. Our country needs strong and democratic institutions“, he said. The cards for these next few years have already been cast and this Thursday the works were officially inaugurated.
If you liked it, share it with your friends!
Source: RT
