For Alexandre Padilha, Congress’s reaction is naturalValter Campanato/Agência Brasil
Published 04/29/2024 15:26
Brasília – The Minister of Institutional Relations, Alexandre Padilha, sought to minimize the clash between Congress and the government after the Union questioned in the Federal Supreme Court (STF) the social security benefit granted by the Legislature to city halls and sectors of the economy. Speaking to the press after meeting with the Minister of Finance, Fernando Haddad, Padilha said it was natural for the head of the economic team to defend the sustainability of public accounts, just as it is natural, according to him, for the president of the Senate, Rodrigo Pacheco ( PSD-MG), defend the decisions taken by parliamentarians.
“That’s why there is also autonomy between the Powers. Now, they are all governed by a constitution. And we have the STF with the role of interpreting the Constitution”, said Padilha, also stating that the government of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) will not have any “gram of attitude that confronts” other Powers.
The atmosphere between Congress and the government heated up after the action presented to the STF last week, asking the Court to consider the social security exemptions approved by Parliament unconstitutional. On Friday, the 26th, Pacheco said he was “perplexed” by the government’s attitude, and appealed the decision of minister Cristiano Zanin, who suspended the benefits
“From the beginning, the government signaled that exemptions were unconstitutional. I think the action of the Treasury and AGU in the STF is natural, as I consider the reaction of Parliament to be natural”, said Padilha, who added that the government works to ensure that projects of interest to the Executive are maintained on the Senate agenda.
The statement was given after being asked whether the recent events would disrupt Planalto’s agenda in the House. “Government projects are on the Senate’s agenda and the government will work to ensure that they are maintained (…) I am sure that Congress will continue to help with the fiscal agenda”, stated the minister.
