The cost of saving Temer has already reached R$ 32 billion.
Negotiations to save Michel Temer are proving costly for Brazilians, potentially reaching R$ 32,1 billion; this is the sum of various concessions and measures negotiated by the government with members of the Chamber of Deputies between June and October, from when Temer was first indicted for passive corruption until the vote on the second formal accusation, for the crimes of criminal organization and obstruction of justice – which is scheduled for this Wednesday, the 25th; the price to keep Temer in the Planalto Palace exceeds by R$ 6 billion the resources allocated to pay installments to families benefiting from the Bolsa Família program throughout next year.
247 - The political negotiation to block two criminal charges against Michel Temer has a cost that could reach R$ 32,1 billion. This is the sum of various concessions and measures negotiated by the government with members of the Chamber of Deputies between June and October, from when Temer was first indicted for passive corruption until the vote on the second formal accusation, for the crimes of criminal organization and obstruction of justice – which is scheduled for this Wednesday, the 25th.
Temer needs 172 votes in his favor, plus absences or abstentions, to block the second indictment. In the first vote, he obtained 263 votes. According to allies, the PMDB member has 240 votes guaranteed, but could reach 270 votes, a result that would comfort the Planalto Palace and should serve as a model for strategies regarding the processing of tax and pension reforms.
In addition to the concessions, from June to October, the Planalto Palace also committed R$ 4,2 billion in individual parliamentary amendments from deputies, which have been mandatory since 2015. The pace of disbursements, however, is defined by the government and was one of the trump cards used to block the first accusation. If these were considered, the total would rise to R$ 36,3 billion.
With no money to actually fulfill the commitment and close to releasing all available amendments, the Planalto Palace began negotiating on other fronts.
Unpopular, the Temer government backed down from allowing mining exploration in the National Copper and Associated Minerals Reserve (Renca) in the Amazon, after international opposition. This week, however, it decided to offer 60% discounts on environmental fines and transform the payments into commitments from private entities for reforestation and environmental conservation. The measure could remove more than R$ 2,7 billion from public coffers.
According to lawmakers linked to labor unions, the government promises to support congressional attempts to reinstate some type of contribution to fund unions.
The information is from Report by Felipe Frazão in Estado de S.Paulo.