Founder of República.org, an institute that works for reforms in the public service, economist Guilherme Cezar Coelho says that the restriction on access will be the subject of this year due to popular pressure.
Coelho hopes this will help the debate move forward, despite it being stalled in Parliament due to what he sees as lobbying from the most privileged public service sectors. “He [o Congresso] was captured by careers that are very influential and benefit from super salaries.”
The subject returned to the center of the debate after the , as the extra funds that escape the civil service ceiling, are known by President Lula (PT).
On the other hand, the decision by Minister Flávio Dino, of the (Supreme Federal Court), is a victory and an opportunity to better regulate public salaries, assesses Coelho.
Heir to one of the richest families in Brazil, the economist defends the advancement of income and inheritance taxation to reduce social inequality.
República.org participates in a national movement to end super salaries. Do you hope that Congress will approve a project restricting super salaries this year?
You have to approve. It is Brazilian patrimonialism expressed in paychecks, it is the appropriation of the public by the private with a receipt. Super salaries are correlated with inefficiency and do not prevent corruption, as we see in the cases of [ex-deputado estadual no Rio] purchasing sentences from the STJ and also from .
There is talk of ending them, but the Chamber ended up approving new benefits.
The empire of pendants strikes back. Minister Flávio Dino, when suspending the penduricalhos for 60 days, spoke of the end of the empire. It is a huge victory for the best organization in the Brazilian State. It is an opportunity to better regulate salaries. by researcher Sergio Guedes Reis.
In your opinion, what will be the outcome of this decision?
It is a monocratic and temporary decision. Therefore, the debate continues. While this decision is valid, many MPs and judiciaries will continue to pay because there are complementary laws approved by the Legislative Assemblies. Now the need for an ADI [Ação Direta de Inconstitucionalidade] remains to regulate where the complementary laws were created.
The biggest news of the year in this State reform agenda is that of Minister Edson Fachin [que debate os supersalários no Judiciário]. Brazil’s legal behavior has very poor public governance. And the Master case will upend the code of ethics that goes along with the super salaries at the Fachin Observatory.
What can be done to improve?
The State needs to better organize public salaries and not live from one job to another, benefiting only those careers with the most power of influence. It is demoralizing for employees who do not receive super salaries. We need regulation. The technical solution is for us to have an independent commission, which doesn’t just have people from careers, who benefit from these frills. We have to stop talking about nonsense and have this governance.
Why did the administrative reform proposal not move forward, even though it had the support of Mayor Hugo Motta?
He tried, but had difficulties along the way. The proposal is also very comprehensive, which is great, but this causes a lot of resistance. Now, it was a step forward that there was a proposal that, from the starting point, no longer spoke of a breakdown in stability, nor did it villainize public servants. It reflects maturity in this discussion. But we need to talk about the bad things about public services. Super salaries are the worst example.
Was there a lack of commitment from the Lula government to reform?
The topic of state reform, unfortunately, is not very important to Lula. But we expect this to be a societal issue. Datafolha showed that 83% of the population . It is a popular topic and will be a campaign theme for the elections.
The super salaries are concentrated in the legal and legal careers of the State, which in addition to being the professionals who must guarantee compliance with the law and the Constitution, should also work for greater predictability, better regulation and more legal security. And that’s not happening. Brazil is doing very poorly in these areas.
If Congress did not approve the reform in the pre-election year, is it even more difficult in this election year?
It is a great proposal under construction for next year. But I think that the issue of super salaries can and should be regulated this year due to social pressure. The problem is that your career itself defines your salary. Others say it’s a race to the bottom, because people will try to increase their salaries instead of working for Brazil. This is what we are seeing in many careers.
If the end of super salaries is so popular, why hasn’t the project been approved by Congress so far?
He was captured by careers that are very influential and benefit from super salaries. A super-salary project almost passed, and the amendment was worse than the sonnet. , showed that Brazil is an outlier. It’s unjustifiable. Brazil is very captured by those who receive super salaries. The government is having difficulty because there is free-for-all trade unionism. They end up putting a lot of pressure on the government.
Like this?
The government has been afraid of these people and ends up confusing its servants with their tormentors. We have 1% of public servants receiving super salaries and influencing 99% of civil servants. It’s like Stockholm syndrome. The 99% of civil servants who do not receive super salaries are co-opted, becoming a mass of maneuver against their end.
What is this fear you mention?
We have contact, for example, with associations and public servant unions that are not on super salaries and are afraid to take a stance against fear of reprisals from unions that are on super salaries. Gangster, militia thing.
But what can they do in retaliation?
Very powerful careers at the limit can also even hinder their career plan. These super-salary careers are the elite of Brazilian civil servants. Not the performance elite, unfortunately, but the power elite, these are the bosses. But there is one thing that is mandatory and that is integrity, image, and the Brazilian fiscal issue. Studies show that super salaries cost at least R$20 billion a year.
You are part of the Brazilian elite as the heir to a financial group. How did you view the debate over the millionaires tax? Were you shy?
We must move forward with the comprehensive reform of income and assets, including reviewing the inheritance tax. An heir in Rio cannot pay just 8% and, in São Paulo, 4%, while in Germany and the United States this value reaches 44%, the two most productive countries in the world. We are putting the wrong incentives in place. In income taxation there is a lot of distortion, there are a lot of special regimes. I have nothing against Brazilian heirs. But we have no reason to subsidize them.
X-ray | Guilherme Cezar Coelho, 46
A Stanford University graduate, he is also a filmmaker. He directed films such as “Fala Tu” (2004), “Órfãos do Eldorado” (2015) and “Oceânico”, to be released in 2026. He founded República.org, dedicated to promoting excellence in Brazilian public service, and MaisProgresso.org, an organization dedicated to economic policies for greater growth and better income distribution. Coelho is the son of former congressman Ronaldo Cezar Coelho, who works in the energy sector and financial market and is one of the 100 billionaires in the country, according to Forbes.
