Rousseff’s Congressional Hurdles

In Brazil, a plethora of political parties make coalitions essential for presidents to pass legislation, something that has been an ongoing challenge for President Dilma Rousseff’s administration. As she makes budget cuts and limits congressional access to pork, she struggles to establish a harmonious relationship with legislators and pass key bills. Tensions within Rousseff’s congressional coalition came to a head on March 12, when the president dismissed the two top congressional leaders, responsible for representing the executive’s position on legislation and organizing coalition votes. Though Rousseff’s relationship with Congress has been strained from the beginning of her time in office, last week’s decision came after a major blow to her administration in early March when the Senate rejected Rousseff’s pick, Bernardo Figueiredo, to head the National Agency of Land Transportation. Figueiredo oversees the Rio-São Paulo bullet train project, which the government wants to prioritize. After the latest shake-up, Rousseff said she wants to start a rotation system for congressional leadership. She also hopes to proceed with her legislative agenda as she pushes for important bills to pass.

Because of the large number of parties in Brazil’s Congress—there are currently 23—jobs, ministerial posts, and congressional funding traditionally help to maintain the president’s coalition. Unlike former President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, Rousseff cut public funds for congressional pork projects, as well as proposing budget cuts of $30 billion to rein in inflation. Legislators accustomed to bigger budgets are upset, and they stonewalled Rousseff earlier in her administration in order to gain access to public funding. As a consequence of the political impasse, on March 19 Rousseff decided to free an undisclosed portion of the frozen funding for pork projects in Congress. It’s also an election year (municipal elections will be held in October), meaning a greater desire for investing in local constituencies. Sylvio Costa, director of political watchdog group Congresso em Foco, told The Economist: “We have a strong president who is unable to do anything without support in Congress. And that support must be bought.”

Shaking up the Coalition

The two ousted congressional leaders, Romero Jucá in the Senate and Cândido Vaccarezza in the lower House, were selected by Lula: Jucá held his post since 2006, and Vaccarezza since 2009. In addition to the transportation nomination, both congressmen irked Rousseff by interfering with her legislative plans. Vaccarezza set a final vote on the Forest Code law—a controversial bill to loosen restrictions on deforestation—for March 13, angering Rousseff for doing so without consulting her first. Moreover, Jucá scurried the passage of legislation that would fine companies for paying women lower salaries for the same job as male counterparts. Rousseff hoped to sign the bill into law last week when she received a women’s rights award on International Women’s day; she was reportedly miffed by Jucá’s “insubordination” for postponing the vote.

To maintain the make up of the coalition, Rousseff’s choices for new congressional leaders came from the same political parties as their predecessors: the centrist Brazilian Democratic Movement Party (PMDB) as head of the Senate and Rousseff’s own Worker’s Party (PT) leading the House of Representatives. On March 13, in her first visit to Congress this year, Rousseff gently reminded legislators to work together, referring to the government as “ours.” “Isn’t that right, vice president?” she added. (Vice President Michel Temer is from the PMDB). Despite the overtures of cooperation, three parties are threatening to leave Rousseff’s coalition, amounting to 74 of 513 seats in the lower house.

The Forest Code

Meanwhile, Rousseff hopes to overcome obstacles to her legislative agenda. First, there’s the revised Forest Code, which would allow farming in environmentally sensitive areas and ease deforestation restrictions. It would also grant amnesty to those responsible for illicit deforestation before 2008, freeing them from paying fines. Opposed by environmentalists and favored by agribusiness interests, Rousseff hopes to sign the bill—but without giving amnesty to illegal loggers. As part of the ongoing feud with Rousseff, legislators postponed a vote on the bill scheduled for last week, with no new date set. As a consequence to the tensions with the president, some congressmen are threatening to rally support to squash the bill. But because of its polemic nature, Rousseff’s administration may try to postpone the final vote until after June’s Rio +20 Summit—an international conference with heads of state to promote environmental sustainability.

The World Cup Law

Another bill, known as the World Cup Law, was also postponed last week in the House of Representatives. The law is a legal framework required by the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) in order for Brazil to host the 2014 international soccer tournament. Originally proposed by FIFA in 2007, the bill suffered numerous delays. A number of issues divided lawmakers, including allowing alcohol sales at stadiums and discounted tickets for students, seniors, and low-income families. FIFA officials have consistently urged the Brazilian government to pass the law quickly, and the new vote is set for March 21.

Hydrocarbons and Mining Framework

As the former minister of Mines and Energy, Rousseff aims to update Brazil’s regulatory framework for mining, as well as a new law to divide oil revenues. There’s the new mining code, which would double royalties on mining revenues, require a licensing process for new projects, create a new regulatory agency for mining, and tax exports such as iron ore and bauxite more than locally processed minerals. The minister of Mines and Energy said the bills should be sent to Congress by the end of March. Another bill critical to Brazilian industry is the oil royalty law. The contentious bill would require the country’s three oil-producing states to share $5.6 billion in oil revenues with the federal government and 24 other states. Earlier in the month, the lower house established a commission to try to find an agreement on the bill, and administration officials said Rousseff would push for a vote, since pre-salt contract bidding is on hold until the bill passes.

National Education Plan

Finally, Rousseff wants to pass the National Education Plan, with a vote expected in June. The plan sets 20 goals over the next two decades, such as increasing the number of nursery schools, making more schools full-time, and creating more technical courses. The bill has been under discussion in the lower house since 2010, though legislators disagree on investment limits.

Read More:

• Read about Brazil’s World Cup law and Forest Code law in AS/COA Online News Analyses.
• Read the details of the proposed royalties law from Brazil’s Congress.
• Read about Brazil’s patronage system in The Economist.
• Read about Brazil’s national education plan on the Ministry of Education’s website.