Ports Provisional Measure: Dilma appeals and Alves attempts a new vote.

247, with the Chamber and Senate Agency - The Speaker of the House, Henrique Eduardo Alves, said this Thursday (9) that he will put the Ports Provisional Measure (595/12) to a vote on the evening of next Monday (13). An extraordinary session is scheduled for 18 pm.

The announcement was made by Alves shortly after President Dilma Rousseff made another appeal for Congress to approve the measure, which she described as "essential" for the country's competitiveness. During a speech at the inauguration ceremony of Minister Guilherme Afif Domingos this morning, she made a more forceful request, this time asking Congress to "make an effort" to approve the "measure that expires next week."

The text expires next Thursday (16) and the government is rushing to get the text approved in the plenary sessions of the Chamber and the Senate. The leader of the PT, deputy José Guimarães (CE), said that he will mobilize the party's bench and the government base to get the quorum sufficient to approve the measure.

"We cannot fail to vote on this matter; it is important for the country," stated Guimarães. According to him, any hesitation from the Chamber could compromise the modernization of the country's port infrastructure.

Minority Leader, Representative Nilson Leitão (PSDB-MT), stated that the opposition is in favor of the Provisional Measure, as it guarantees the modernization of ports, but that the measure is likely to expire without being approved. "The government has 400 representatives in its base, and the opposition is the smallest in Latin America. If it doesn't vote, the only ones to blame will be the government itself and its base," he said.

Renan Calheiros announces efforts to get the Provisional Measure voted on.

The president of the Senate, Renan Calheiros, stated this morning that he will make every effort to ensure that the House votes on Provisional Measure 595/2012 in a timely manner. The senator noted that this is a matter of interest to Brazil, especially during a time of international economic crisis.

He did not dismiss the difficulties of approving a provisional measure without senators having a minimum period of ten days to discuss it, but he remained optimistic. After Alves' announcement about the extraordinary session next Monday, Renan Calheiros said he intends to speak with party leaders in order to expedite the vote in the Senate as well.

- I hope the Provisional Measure is approved, and we are working towards that. If the Chamber approves it on Monday, we will consider it in the Senate, but we need recognition of this exceptionality by the leaders. As it is a matter of interest to Brazil, especially at this time of international crisis, in which we need to increase our exports, I think this helps in terms of persuasion, so that we can consider the matter within a different timeframe than what we have been observing over the last few years.

Turmoil

The vote on Wednesday (8) was cancelled after the atmosphere in the Plenary heated up when the leader of the PR, deputy Anthony Garotinho (RJ), said that the measure had become the "Pig MP" because of interference from private interests in the analysis of the proposal. There was a heated exchange and the Speaker of the House decided to end the proceedings.

During the session, the leader of the PP party, Representative Arthur Lira (AL), said he would obstruct the vote until Garotinho indicated who had made shady deals during the processing of the provisional measure.

Highlights

Several points of the Ports Provisional Measure are being questioned by parties within the government's base. Twenty-eight amendments were presented to the proposal, aiming to alter the text in plenary session. PMDB, PSB, PDT, and DEM presented the most significant disagreements regarding the text and, therefore, joined forces to support the amendment presented by the PMDB leader, Deputy Eduardo Cunha (RJ). According to him, the report from the joint committee worsened the text of the Provisional Measure.

The main objective of Cunha's amendment is to impose bidding processes and deadlines for authorizations to operate private terminals. The amendment also provides for changes in the extension of existing contracts; alterations to labor regulations; and permission for the delegation, to port concessionaires, of the powers of the National Agency for Waterway Transportation (Antaq) regarding bidding processes.