True political reform
The PT (Workers' Party) is on the side it has always been on. Along with the population that, in various opinion polls conducted since June, shortly after the street protests, is showing support for political reform and a plebiscite.
This week, the parliamentary groups of the PT, PSB, PDT, PSOL, and PCdoB prevented the Chamber of Deputies from taking a step backward regarding political reform. By requesting a postponement of the discussion and preventing the vote on the mini-electoral reform approved by the Senate, the five parties reaffirmed the need to move forward in building a broad and consistent reform of our political and electoral system, capable of responding to the aspirations of society.
The mini-reform is so limited that it doesn't touch on any of the fundamental issues. The proposal only suggests minor and secondary adjustments that don't constitute any significant changes, for example, in the way electoral campaigns are financed or in the voting system—key points of the reform that the PT (Workers' Party) has always fought for and that could meet the population's demands for less corruption and more representation.
The bill, drafted by Senator Romero Jucá (PMDB-RR), aims to shorten campaign periods and change the rules for painting murals during the election period. The mini-reform includes provisions for the free expression of candidates on social media, permission for candidates with a criminal record to nominate a substitute up to 20 days before the election, and limitations on the hiring of campaign workers.
The text also proposes altering the period for forming coalitions, moving it to June 12th to 30th, and the final date for candidate registration to July 07th of the election year, in addition to allowing discussions of public policies at party events and the dissemination of party primaries, without this being considered premature campaigning. As the PT leader in the Chamber of Deputies, José Guimarães (CE), aptly defined it, this is a paltry, diminutive reform that does not address the central problems of our political and electoral system.
The mini-reform not only fails to propose the elimination of private campaign financing—one of the most important initiatives to reduce the influence of economic power on elections—but also, in its original text, provided for allowing public service concessionaires to indirectly transfer money to candidates and parties through other companies, a practice now prohibited by law.
Faced with insignificant changes that exclude and delay the discussion of the central proposals of true political reform, the PT, which has always been at the forefront of this struggle, understood that the best course of action would be not to vote for the mini-reform. Reaffirming its decision to prioritize, in any scenario of legislative debates and with society, proposals for exclusive public campaign financing, elections by pre-ordered party lists with gender parity, and the expansion of mechanisms for popular participation, the party demonstrates consistency with what it has always defended.
The Workers' Party (PT) is on the side it has always been on. Along with the population, which has expressed support, in various opinion polls conducted since June, shortly after the street protests, for political reform and the plebiscite suggested by President Dilma Rousseff, as a means of ensuring that the people are the main actors and not mere spectators of the changes.
It is necessary to continue fighting for a consistent reform of the political-electoral system and intensify efforts to approve the draft legislative decree that the PT, PDT, PSB, and PCdoB parties presented in the Chamber of Deputies for holding a plebiscite that directly consults Brazilian citizens. Unlike the opposition, which, fearing popular sovereignty, only accepts indirect consultations or "reforms" that do not alter the core of the current system, we want real changes that reduce the existing flaws in the current electoral and party rules and that refresh the Brazilian political system.
The reform can also be made viable through a popular initiative bill, which the PT (Workers' Party) has also been working on, collecting signatures throughout the country. Now, it is necessary to join forces, strengthen dialogue with the population and organized civil society entities, such as the OAB (Brazilian Bar Association) and CNBB (National Conference of Brazilian Bishops), which also advocate for reform with public financing of campaigns, and not give up until true political reform is achieved. We have no time to lose, nor can we accept half-hearted changes that will not contribute to deepening the democratic process in our country. It is necessary to amplify the voice of the streets and approve a reform that produces consequences for the country's political future. It is up to the National Congress, at this moment, to take a stand in this regard.
Dirceu, 67, is a lawyer, former Chief of Staff, and member of the PT's National Directorate.