João Paulo Cunha and Eduardo Cunha point to party fragmentation, amendments and judicialization as factors of institutional change
Two former presidents of the Chamber of Deputies located in opposing political camps converged this Wednesday (June 10) in a diagnosis of Brazilian politics: coalition presidentialism has reached its limit.
Coalition presidentialism is a concept that describes a system in which the president’s party does not hold a majority in the Legislature, but the head of the Executive forms a base of support in Congress with other parties. To these parties, the president offers government positions, release of funds and programmatic commitments. This arrangement has marked the governability of presidents since redemocratization.
In a lunch-debate promoted by Casa ParlaMento, a branch in Brasília, (PT) and (Republicans) stated that the model was exhausted in the face of political fragmentation, expansion of mandatory amendments and increasing judicialization of decisions.
João Paulo Cunha presided over the Chamber from February 2003 to February 2005, at the beginning of the president’s (PT) 1st term, and Eduardo Cunha headed the House from February 2015 to July 2016, in the president’s (PT) 2nd term.
The 2 disagreed about the origins and solutions to the problem, but defended changes in institutions. In common, they pointed out that the increasing transfer of political conflicts to the Judiciary, the weakening of parties and changes in the profile of congressmen helped to produce the current tensions between the Powers.
The debate brought together 2 former mayors who played a central role at different times in national politics. João Paulo Cunha was the first PT deputy to preside over the House, and Eduardo Cunha commanded the Chamber during the impeachment of (PT).
“There is no doubt that the advent of social networks ended up bringing a completely different type of qualification to Parliament. This is what is leading us to today’s situation“, declared Eduardo Cunha.
Eduardo Cunha says that the introduction of the imposition amendments, approved during his administration as head of the Chamber (2015-2016) was a “watershed” and that the focus should be on having a 100% imposition budget
João Paulo Cunha stated that coalition presidentialism was essential to guarantee governability after redemocratization. He cited the governments of Itamar Franco, Fernando Henrique Cardoso and Lula as examples of administrations that managed to form stable majorities in Congress despite party fragmentation.
For the PT member, the model lost its ability to function in the way it was conceived. “Coalition presidentialism is failed. It is obvious that it is”, he predicted.
Budget owners
If there is a consensus that the mandatory amendments made it difficult to create pro-government majorities, there is no consensus on the consequences of the new arrangement.
“The Budget is a rule linked to the Executive Branch. We made a change that deforms this system“, stated João Paulo, referring to the rules that made the amendments mandatory. This framework was approved under Eduardo Cunha’s administration.
Eduardo defends the amendments. He says it reduced congressmen’s dependence on the government to free up resources destined for their electoral bases.
The former president of the Chamber stated that the approval of the mandatory amendments represented a “watershed“, but said he considered the solution adopted to be incomplete.”We should have introduced the tax budget as a whole“, he declared.
João Paulo Cunha says that parties and groups of all ideological stripes demand the STF, damaging the political process
According to Eduardo, a fully mandatory budget would allow Congress to focus its discussions on the distribution of public resources, without the need for current parliamentary amendments.
“If there were an imposing budget, there would not even be a need for an amendment. The amendments could end“, he stated.
Fragmentation
João Paulo Cunha attributed part of the institutional crisis to party fragmentation. According to him, coalition presidentialism worked for decades because it allowed the formation of stable parliamentary majorities, but lost effectiveness due to the fragmentation of parties.
“It is not common to have a country with 40 or 50 parties. It’s a lot of ideas together“, he stated.
The former president of the Chamber defended a political reform capable of reducing fragmentation and even suggested the adoption of mechanisms similar to the second round in legislative elections. According to him, the change could encourage the consolidation of fewer parties and bring the Brazilian system closer to a two-party model.
João Paulo also stated that part of the protagonism acquired by the Judiciary stems from the inability of political actors themselves to resolve conflicts within institutions. “Politicians from all walks of life demand the Judiciary every day“, he declared.
Both João Paulo Cunha and Eduardo Cunha are pre-candidates for federal deputy. The first, competes for São Paulo. The second, for Minas Gerais.
In the PT member’s assessment, the Federal Supreme Court should concentrate its work on constitutional issues, while infra-constitutional matters would be analyzed by the Superior Court of Justice (STJ). For him, the reorganization of competencies would help reduce recurring tensions between the Powers.
