The federal government wants the president of the Federal Senate, Rodrigo Pacheco, to prioritize the vote on PLP 18/2022 before an analysis of the two PECs (Proposed Amendments to the Constitution) that also deal with fuel prices.
The idea that has been defended by the political articulation of Palácio do Planalto is that the proposal establishing a ceiling of 17% on ICMS is used as a thermometer to assess whether the other two measures have sufficient support to be voted on this week.
To pass a bill, an absolute majority in the Legislative House is required, that is, the support of 41 of the 81 senators. A PEC, however, needs a higher score, three-fifths of the votes, totaling 49.
Therefore, members of the government argue that, if the bill’s score is tight, it would be better to hold the vote on the proposals that amend the Federal Constitution until next week.
The margin cited by government organizers to the CNN is 55 votes. That is, a gap of six votes from the minimum necessary, which would give security to vote on both measures until next Wednesday (14).
To reach that score, members of the allied base spent the weekend discussing with opposition leaders the inclusion of amendments to the bill. So far, more than 25 parliamentary amendments have been presented.
One of the PECs presents a compensation of R$ 29.6 billion for the federation units that accept, until the end of this year, the zero ICMS on diesel and gas.
The other encourages the competitiveness of biofuels in relation to fossil competitors, especially in view of the federal government’s intention to zero PIS/Cofins and Cide on ethanol.
The proposal’s rapporteur, Senator Fernando Bezerra (MDB-PE), estimates that the proposals may have an impact of R$ 0.76 on a liter of diesel and up to R$ 1.65 on a liter of gasoline.
According to the latest bulletin from Abicom (Brazilian Association of Fuel Importers), the lag today for diesel in relation to the international market is R$ 1.09, while that for gasoline is R$ 0.93.
Pacheco is expected to meet this Monday with party leaders to decide whether there will be a vote on the PECs later today.
Source: CNN Brasil
