The ever-forgotten political reform

In February of this year, I took office as president of the PRB (Brazilian Republican Party) in the State of São Paulo with the goal of advancing the Single Tax project as an alternative to tax reform. Another proposal that I will discuss with the national leadership of the party is support for resuming the debate involving political reform, a fundamental measure for the country, but one that is always forgotten.

I have frequently advocated for broad political reform, hoping that this process would lead some people to stop being professional politicians. I believe that, following this line of thought, such reform could be an effective contribution to combating corruption in Brazil.

Politics in this country needs shock treatment. Extreme rigor is necessary to eradicate endemic corruption and abuses of power in Brazilian public life. In this sense, as I have been saying for some years, a political reform should have the following guidelines:

1) Exclusively public financing of election campaigns, to control economic power and discourage backroom deals with private campaign financiers;

2) District voting (preferably mixed) to bring voters closer to those elected and provide more efficient mechanisms for mutual understanding and oversight;

3) A radical reduction in freely appointed positions in public administration, those occupied by people nominated by politicians and who do not need to pass a competitive examination, in order to strengthen the formation of a professional and stable administrative bureaucracy;

4) Elimination of remuneration for holding elected positions in the Legislative branch (city councilors, state representatives, and senators), accepting only reimbursement of costs incurred in the performance of the function, to avoid the professionalization of politics;

5) Prohibition of successive re-elections also for the Legislative Branch (city councilors, state representatives, federal representatives, and senators) to encourage rotation and prevent complacency within elective public activity;

6) preventing holders of legislative mandates from exercising executive functions to guarantee full independence between the branches of government;

7) mandatory automatic disclosure of tax and banking secrecy for all candidates for political office and public administrators, regardless of judicial authorization, to curb corruption and inhibit the appetite of those who enter politics for unconfessable reasons or with dubious pasts;

8) Party loyalty, to prevent corrupt parliamentarians from being co-opted in exchange for support.

Brazil needs to undertake changes in its political structure to strengthen the democratic system and eliminate sclerotic and illicit practices that undermine ethics and public finances. It is essential to moralize the Brazilian government machine at all levels. I insist that it is necessary to reshape the behavioral parameters of the country's political class.