Senate approves MP do Auxílio Brasil, which goes to presidential sanction

The Senate approved, this Thursday (2nd), the Provisional Measure (MP) of Auxílio Brasil, a social program that replaces Bolsa Família. The matter will now be sanctioned by President Jair Bolsonaro (PL).

A change made by the rapporteur of the matter, Roberto Rocha (PSDB-MA), was the subject of questioning in the plenary, but the Board of Directors of the House was in favor of the change in the text.

The change made by the rapporteur authorizes the government to match the number of beneficiaries and financial benefits of the program to budget allocations.

The leader of the government in the Senate, Fernando Bezerra Coelho (MDB-PE), had proposed that the rapporteur withdraw the questioned change, but he went back. According to Bezerra, the Minister of Citizenship, João Roma, who was on the Senate floor, defended the change.

According to technicians who followed the MP’s vote, the wording could compromise the imposition of clearing lines of people who expect a social benefit from the federal government. The reporter stated that the zeroed queue is guaranteed.

In addition, the leader of the Senate Network, Randolfe Rodrigues (AP), said that it was an amendment to change. “There is no resistance on the part of the opposition regarding the matter, but I would like to draw attention to an aspect that, in practice, harms the provisional measure itself. This is the new paragraph of article 21 of the MP”, said the congressman.

“This provision is obviously not about an amendment to the wording, it is an amendment that alters the content, the merits, the form of concrete execution of the program”, added Randolfe.

The vice president of the Senate, Veneziano Vital do Rêgo (MDB-PB), however, said that the evaluation of the Board of Directors was that the change made by the rapporteur was a wording one, not a merit one. Therefore, the Bureau defended that the MP should go straight to presidential sanction, without having to go back for analysis by the Chamber of Deputies.

Today, the Senate also approved the Proposal to Amend the Constitution (PEC) of Precatório, which opens up a fiscal space of R$ 106.1 billion in 2022 and allows the implementation of Auxílio Brasil in the amount of R$ 400 starting this month. The PEC will still have to go through a new vote in the Chamber, which should position itself on the changes made in the Senate.