An area that under the Lula (PT) government, according to research, public security will be one of the themes most explored by the opposition in the campaign, say the PT’s opponents. The government intends to highlight the actions to combat crime, mainly from the “upstairs”, and the legal frameworks sent to Congress.
The president of the Chamber of Deputies, Hugo Motta (Republicans-PB), told Sheet that this is one of the topics most demanded by the population and defended the Legislative’s actions to help combat crime.
“Public security is a problem at three administrative levels. From the municipal guards, through the police and reaching the federal level, we have to increasingly integrate. This is what we did with the Security PEC [Pública]”, said the parliamentarian.
The survey shows that the government is doing well for the president elected in October, such as health (concern of 34% of those interviewed by Datafolha), public security (12%) and economy (11%).
Respondents consider that the topics where things are going worst are public security (16%), (15%), (13%) and combating crime (13%). These are all themes that the opposition plans to use to try to wear down the president and present proposals to win over voters.
Deputy Kim Kataguiri (Missão-SP) stated that “it is natural” the government’s poor assessment on the issues of corruption, “which has always been a hallmark of PT governments”, and on public security, in which “his government was a huge failure and is now desperately trying, in the last year of his term, to improve his image” with the launch of new measures.
Public security is a topic explored by the main presidential candidates opposing the government, such as Flávio Bolsonaro (PL), Ronaldo Caiado (PSD), Romeu Zema (Novo) and Renan Santos (Missão).
Government reaction
Lula intends to counter criticism in this area with a package of legislative measures, such as the PEC (Proposed Amendment to the Constitution) for Public Security, which establishes rules for cooperation between the Union, states and municipalities, and the anti-faction bill, which toughens criminal legislation.
Deputy leader of the government in the Chamber, deputy Alencar Santana Braga (PT-SP) states that the challenge is to show the population that the main responsible for the area are the governors.
“The insecurity of not being able to carry a cell phone on the street in the capital of São Paulo is the direct responsibility of the state government, which commands the Military Police. But people end up not understanding, and the governors, in a clever and sneaky way, say that it is a federal responsibility,” he said.
A member of Planalto highlights that another strategy is to say that Lula acted against white-collar and businessman crimes, and sought to stifle criminal organizations such as the PCC (Primeiro Comando da Capital). The idea is to create a contrast with the opponents, who, in the PT narrative, would defend the richest.
Legislative
Motta stated that more than 50 projects on public security were approved in the House and that the topic will remain a priority, especially projects against feminicide.
The Security PEC, waiting for President Davi Alcolumbre (União Brasil-AP) to send it for debate in the committees. He, however, has been in conflict with the government since Lula nominated Jorge Messias for the vacancy on the STF (Supreme Federal Court) last year.
“I have full confidence that the Senate should vote, yes, on the Security PEC. It is also a priority for the Senate, it is a priority for Brazil,” said Motta.
Leader of União Brasil in the Chamber, deputy Pedro Lucas Fernandes (MA) stated that several parliamentarians have already appealed to the Senate to move forward with this PEC. “The Security PEC was emblematic. The Senate still needs to play its role,” he said.
Health
Representative Carlos Veras (PT-PE) said that Lula will also seek to make a comparison in health actions with the Bolsonaro government, which is the second worst rated by the population in relation to the current government. According to Datafolha, 15% of voters consider this to be the area in which the government is doing worst.
“If we remember, the previous government destroyed all the policies that had been built over time for health. It denied the SUS [Sistema Único de Saúde]denied science. Their only major work for this country was 700,000 graves because they neglected the Covid-19 pandemic and many people died,” he said.
According to the PT member, programs such as Farmácia Popular, the return of Mais Médicos and Agora Tem Especialista, which established partnerships to reduce waiting times for consultations, exams, treatments and elective surgeries, will be highlighted in the campaign.
