This Tuesday (14) he assumes the Secretariat of Institutional Relations with the challenge of improving the political articulation of the Lula (PT) government and rearranging the forces in the Planalto. The new minister must take advice to the president to the center, in contrast to the minister of the General Secretariat of the Presidency, who has a more left-wing and combative profile.
A federal deputy in his fifth term, Guimarães is close to the president of the Chamber, who validated the new minister. Leaders of the center praised the choice, as they consider that the new political coordinator is known in Congress, fulfills agreements and does not give a “hobby”, in the words of a member of the group. Guimarães takes over the position from Gleisi Hoffmann (PT).
Party leaders also highlight that the absence in the Planalto of Rui Costa (PT), who left the Civil House to run for the Senate in Bahia, will give Guimarães more strength. They remember that, sometimes, agreements made by the government leader were undone when they passed through the Civil House.
The assessment between PT and Congress leaders is that, after the departure of and , Boulos was left without competitors from other ideological lines in the Planalto. He quickly assumed a prestigious position, even joining the pre-election campaign group, which meets weekly in Alvorada.
Government assistants point out that two recent government decisions were influenced by Boulos and generated a conflict with the Legislature: the latest version of the application regulation project and to end the 6×1 work schedule.
Lula confirmed last week the submission of the project to end the 6×1 scale. The decision had been announced by Boulos, but contested by parliamentarians and even members of the government. The President of the Chamber, who has a slower process.
The regulation of work via app was an initiative from the left, but changes made by the rapporteur, Augusto Coutinho (Republicanos-PE), made the government shake its head and withdraw its support. The opinion drops the minimum rate per trip for drivers and creates, for delivery drivers, two models: one with a basic remuneration of R$8.50 and the other with payment per hour worked.
Planalto understood that this version attracted rejection and could undermine Lula’s approach to the delivery men, having left out the government’s original demands on the topic. The center understands that the government, which defended a minimum fee of R$10, gave up on the idea because it could make the service more expensive and wanted to leave the burden on the Chamber.
Guimarães indicated to his allies that he had a contrary position in both cases. Regarding 6×1, according to allies, he defended that the government not send the project with constitutional urgency or that, at least, wait for a conversation with Motta before making the sending official.
On the issue of applications, Guimarães made his first statement after being announced minister. He agreed with the rapporteur to withdraw the proposal, which would be voted on this Tuesday (14) in the special committee. If we were to analyze it, the expectation was that the opposition and the center would join forces to wear down the government and place the bill for a possible increase in the cost of deliveries and races on Planalto.
Allies say that Guimarães, in addition to offering Lula a counterpoint to Boulos, will also have the initial challenge of establishing a dialogue channel with the president of the Senate, Davi Alcolumbre (União Brasil-AP). The senator would have sympathy for the deputy, with whom he was a colleague in the Chamber, but something far from the close relationship that the PT member has with Motta.
The government has encountered difficulties in its relationship with Alcolumbre since the president of the Senate broke relations with the government leader in the House, Jaques Wagner (PT-BA). It will be up to Guimarães, in this case, to bring the Planalto senator back together, especially on the eve of the vote on the nomination of Jorge Messias to the STF (Supreme Federal Court).
Lula reversed his political articulation strategy at the end of this third term. When he chose Alexandre Padilha (PT) and Gleisi for Institutional Relations, the president demonstrated that he preferred to have a “hard-line” minister who was less friendly to Congress in the Planalto.
Now, Lula places Guimarães in the Planalto and chose deputy Paulo Pimenta (PT-RS) to lead the government in the Chamber. The Gaucho is seen as a more “hard-line” PT member, with a tendency to clash in plenary.
