Cunha imposes agenda and practices parliamentarism.

Before completing 30 days in office, the Speaker of the House leaves the government stunned by the multitude of initiatives; with Eduardo Cunha at the helm, the House approved an obligation for the Treasury to finance parliamentary amendments to the Budget, froze the agenda for expanding civil rights, and invited, one by one, the 39 ministers of the Executive branch to account for their administrations; at a time of difficulties for the Presidential Palace, Cunha, in practice, acts as if the political system were parliamentary – and he, the prime minister; will this bold strategy prosper?

February 14, 2015, 15:20 PMUpdated July 05, 2018, 13:23 pm

Before completing 30 days in office, the Speaker of the House leaves the government stunned by the multitude of initiatives; with Eduardo Cunha at the helm, the House approved an obligation for the Treasury to finance parliamentary amendments to the Budget, froze the agenda for expanding civil rights, and invited, one by one, the 39 ministers of the Executive branch to account for their administrations; at a time of difficulties for the Presidential Palace, Cunha, in practice, acts as if the political system were parliamentary – and he, the prime minister; will this bold strategy prosper? (Photo: Aline Lima)

247 - The Speaker of the House, Eduardo Cunha, 'doesn't care at all' or, to use a popular expression, 'is all in'. One way or another, the new head of the Legislature is acting as if the political system were parliamentary – and he, the prime minister.

In less than 30 days in office, Cunha has already played cards that have shifted the center of gravity of political initiatives from the Presidential Palace to the Chamber of Deputies itself. There are no signs that he will turn off the steamroller anytime soon, a machine that has reversed the priorities of politicians and is leaving the government stunned by the speed with which it approves projects that go against the wishes of President Dilma Rousseff and her closest team.

Eduardo Cunha's signature style of presiding over the Chamber of Deputies was on full display last week. In a brief and unhurried vote, the deputies approved making it mandatory for the Treasury to cover all parliamentary amendments to the Union Budget. Even amidst the Executive's spending adjustment plans, in this round of voting alone, Cunha imposed an obligation on the Treasury estimated at over R$ 9 billion this year.

The government's agenda for expanding civil rights has also suffered a complete reversal. Now, bills such as the right to civil marriage between homosexuals and the issue of abortion rights are no longer on the agenda. They have given way to typical provocations such as the establishment of a National Heterosexual Pride Day, a project of Cunha himself. According to him, as long as he is president of the House, the abortion bill will not be voted on 'even if the cow coughs'.

Another blow for the Executive branch to absorb was the one-off approval of a comprehensive request for each of the 39 government ministers to appear individually before the Federal Chamber. The intention of the initiative is for them to give an account of their work to the politicians.

Even after the parliamentary system of government was defeated in two plebiscites in the country, what is apparent is that Cunha, in practice, is implementing the model in relations with the Executive branch. Leaving no gaps, at a time when the government is under pressure from the Lava Jato scandal on one side, and from the economic conditions on the other, Cunha acts like a head of the Legislative branch with a large majority to impose his ideas. Agile and meticulous, the Speaker of the House has begun a frenetic administration that has the potential to change the pattern of relations between the branches of government – with the predominance of Congress and its new leader.