The president of the Chamber, Hugo Motta (Republicanos-PB), used the meeting with party leaders this Wednesday to organize the start of the legislative year and define a minimum calendar for the first relevant votes in the House. The main direction of the meeting was the prediction that the Public Security PEC will be analyzed immediately after Carnival, in addition to signaling that the Antifaction project should be postponed for a second time.
The proposal’s rapporteur, deputy Mendonça Filho (União-PE), stated that Motta prioritized the topic and that the text will follow a procedure previously agreed with the leaders. Over the next two weeks, the report presented by him in December will be debated with the benches, who may suggest adjustments before formal deliberation.
— President Hugo reaffirmed the priority for the Public Security agenda. We will present the substitute to the benches in the first and second week of February, so that they can bring contributions before the final decision is made in the special committee and then in the plenary.
Opportunity with security!
According to Mendonça, the forecast is that, once this stage is completed, the proposal will be considered by the special committee in the week of February 23, already after the holiday. The rapporteur also informed that he will have a working meeting with the new Minister of Justice and Public Security, Wellington Lima, in the coming days, before the start of the round of presentations to the benches.
The PEC reaches this stage after weeks of tension between the government and the rapporteur. Members of the Executive had been defending changes to reinforce national coordination in the fight against organized crime, preserve instruments of the Ministry of Justice in the management of the National Security Fund and make the role of the Federal Police more explicit.
Another point of discomfort in Planalto was the assessment that the text reported in Congress was softening the federal coordination axis to avoid resistance from governors.
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During the meeting, Mendonça also defended that the Antifaction project, which deals with combating criminal organizations and has undergone changes in the Senate, be voted on only after the definition of the constitutional text. The suggestion was accepted in the discussion.
While security gets on track for February, the immediate agenda will focus on provisional measures and consensus matters.
Motta informed that the Chamber should vote next week on two provisional measures — Gás do Povo and the one that deals with financial relief and debt renegotiation of rural producers affected by climate events — in addition to the project that creates the Federal Institute of Sertão Paraibano and other consensus proposals between the parties. The two MPs serve agendas defended by the federal government, while the creation of the institute is an issue of direct interest to Motta. The installation and election of permanent committees is also planned, a step considered essential for the regular functioning of the House.
The agreement is to preserve last year’s party design, with the same acronyms at the head of the collegiate bodies, avoiding reopening a broad dispute for spaces at the beginning of the legislative session. According to the rules, presidents cannot be reappointed, but parties maintain the right to seats, nominating new names. The exceptions will be the Constitution and Justice Commission (CCJ) and the Mixed Budget Commission (CMO), which have their own rules for alternating between parties, already defined at the beginning of the legislature. CCJ will be with União and CMO, with PSD.
— Each bench will have next week to discuss the names and finalize the composition before Carnival. This is the priority of priorities — stated the government leader, José Guimarães (PT-CE).
Topics defended by the opposition, such as Banco Master’s CPMI, did not advance at the meeting. The Mercosur–European Union agreement was cited as a political priority, but still awaits the sending of the Executive’s message to Congress.
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— We want to vote before Carnival, but it depends on shipping, and we are trying to make sure it arrives as quickly as possible. Then you still have to go through the PARLASUL commission — said Lindbergh Farias (PT).
