Temer meets with ministers to reach an agreement on the fiscal adjustment measures.

Brazil Agency - The Vice President of the Republic, Michel Temer, met today (13) with ministers from the economic area and government leaders in the Chamber and Senate to discuss the fiscal adjustment measures being processed in the National Congress.

On the agenda are Provisional Measures 664 and 665, which alter access to labor and social security benefits such as unemployment insurance, salary bonus, and survivor's pension. Participants at the meeting have not yet announced the points on which the government might concede in order to reach an agreement.

Besides Temer, who has also been in charge of the government's political coordination since last week, the ministers Joaquim Levy (Finance), Nelson Barbosa (Planning), Aloizio Mercadante (Chief of Staff), and Carlos Gabas (Social Security) participated in the meeting in the Vice-President's office. According to Gabas, nothing is defined at the moment, and all topics are being discussed.

"All the topics under discussion are subject to modification and improvement. We are listening to the leaders, the rapporteur of the measures, and the president of the joint committee that will oversee the vote," the minister informed.

According to the government leader in Congress, José Guimarães (PT-CE), the meeting mainly discussed Provisional Measure 665. The congressman stated that the intention is to vote on the measure's report this week in the special committee analyzing the measures and to request a vote in plenary by the end of the month.

Tomorrow (14), the joint committee that analyzes Provisional Measure 665 (which changes rules for requesting unemployment insurance, salary bonus and fishing allowance), should analyze the report by Senator Paulo Rocha (PT-PA). The rapporteur's opinion has not yet been released.

“It’s not about giving in, adding, or taking away. It’s about the dialogue that the committee is promoting. We are discussing everything. Nothing is defined yet. The atmosphere is very good. I can assure you that the conditions are right for us to vote on the unemployment insurance bill,” Guimarães added. According to him, these conversations are building “great possibilities for agreement within the committee.”

Minister Gabas did not disclose which point the government might concede, but clarified that all items are open for discussion, signaling that there will be changes to the original text.

“We expect the provisional measure to be approved as a whole. If there are items that could improve it, we will accept them, so that the fiscal adjustment is approved in its entirety. We want to preserve the provisional measure as a whole. Whether it will be improved or not will depend on Congress,” said the minister.

José Guimarães also believes that, based on the government's draft text, parliamentarians will be able to make changes to the bill, as long as "the backbone of the provisional measure is preserved." The Minister of Social Security assessed that the adjustment will pass through the Chamber and the Senate "better than it arrived, as it will be improved."