Aldo: "Government crises are the result of inexperience"
Speaking to 247, a PCdoB congressman criticizes the government's "voluntarism in picking a fight with Congress" and points to errors in the negotiations of the Forest Code, the definition of the minimum wage, and the cuts to parliamentary amendments.
Evam Sena_247, Brasília – In his sixth term as a federal deputy, Aldo Rebelo (PCdoB-SP), who was previously president of the Chamber of Deputies (2005-2007) and Minister of Political Coordination in the Lula government, has the background to analyze the real state of the relationship between the parties supporting the government, aggravated by the succession of crises in the ministries and the fall of four top-level officials.
In an interview with 247, Aldo stated that tension within the government's base has existed in all governments since the return to democracy. "I don't see anything that can't be overcome by politics, by the government's ability to manage these conflicts, making reasonable concessions, but at the same time preserving the independence between the branches of power," he said.
His statement takes shape, however, when he lists what those concessions would be and ends up pointing out errors by the federal government, such as in the negotiations for the vote on the Forest Code in the Chamber of Deputies, of which he was the rapporteur; in setting the value of the minimum wage for 2011, R$ 545, and in cutting parliamentary amendments.
"These issues [disagreement with the base] are the result of the government's inexperience and willful bickering, picking unnecessary fights with Congress and failing to engage in conflict when necessary," he opined.
According to Aldo, President Dilma Rousseff did not "have as many opportunities to form a cabinet with the personnel she could have chosen," which signals a significant influence from former President Lula and the coalition parties that elected her. The congressman points out that the constant reshuffling of ministerial positions has not ended. "The tendency is for the president to adjust the government, replace ministers who don't fit her style, and recover a reasonable level of governability for the remainder of her term," he said.
The communist believes that the relationship between the Presidential Palace and Congress has improved after the replacement of the political coordination team, with Ideli Salvatti taking over the Secretariat of Institutional Relations and Gleisi Hoffmann taking over the Civil House. Although he believes that the governing parties are more united the better the Brazilian economy performs, Aldo does not foresee a very difficult economic scenario for the country.
TCU
In the race for the Chamber's seat on the TCU (Federal Court of Accounts), opened up by Ubiratan Aguiar's retirement, Aldo is individually coordinating with deputies, since almost all parties have a candidate. He doesn't confirm it, but besides the PCdoB (Communist Party of Brazil), he has the support of the rural caucus in the DEM (Democrats) and PMDB (Brazilian Democratic Movement Party), and part of the PSDB (Brazilian Social Democracy Party).
His main competitor is congresswoman Ana Arraes (PSB-PE), who has two major campaign supporters: her son, the governor of Pernambuco, Eduardo Campos, who is close to Aldo; and former president Lula himself. "This is not an election that can be decided based on one endorsement or statement," Aldo retorted.
He denied that there is any attempt at an agreement for one of the two to drop out of the race or that the government leadership in Congress is being offered as a consolation prize. “This news may arise because of my close relationship with the governor of Pernambuco. Regarding the government leadership, I haven't considered and don't consider that possibility, because it was already an indication from the PMDB, and the tendency is for it to remain so,” he said.