DEM predicts Dilma's vetoes on the mini-reform will be overturned.

Wilson Silveira, Chamber of Deputies Agency - The leader of the DEM party in the Chamber of Deputies, Congressman Ronaldo Caiado (GO), predicted that President Dilma Rousseff's vetoes of the mini-electoral reform bill will be overturned by Congress. "It will probably be the first veto that the president will see overturned in the Chamber and the Senate," he said. Meanwhile, the leader of the PT party, Congressman José Guimarães (CE), who opposed the bill from the beginning, said that the proposal is "so insignificant and so minor that it will neither hinder nor help in any way."

Despite being a critic of the mini-reform project, Caiado disagrees with the vetoes, which he considers an interference by the Executive Branch in a matter that exclusively concerns the Legislative Branch. Caiado was one of the rapporteurs for the political reform in the Chamber of Deputies, and his proposal was not voted on due to a lack of agreement.

"This is a project of convenience. I think it had an objective. What is it? To reduce the cost of campaigns. Now, given what happened, that is, what was approved in the Chamber and the president vetoed, it's logical that she vetoed 100% of the spirit of what would reduce campaign costs. So, there is no sanction of a mini-reform, there is exactly a 100% veto of the reform," he said.

Regarding the veto on the ban on advertising on private property, Caiado stated that no one wants to interfere with a citizen's right to express their opinion about their candidate. "That's not the problem. The reality is that there was a veritable auction of walls," he said.

Caiado also defended the (vetoed) rule that prevented cuts to Party Fund resources during the pre-election period. According to him, cases that have been pending for ten years in the Electoral Court are judged during election time due to political influence, solely to harm certain candidates. "If you want to judge, judge, but outside of that election period," he said.

The leader of the DEM party also criticized the "interference" of the Supreme Federal Court (STF) and entities such as the Brazilian Bar Association (OAB) in Congressional decisions related to the electoral process. He cited the STF for deeming the electoral threshold clause unconstitutional, and the OAB for its proposed political reform. According to him, the OAB is "meddling in matters that are not within its purview."

Broader reform

José Guimarães reaffirmed that the PT (Workers' Party) advocates for a much broader electoral reform. "This reform that the Senate and the Chamber approved is a collection of add-ons that don't address the essential changes, which are the electoral system and the party system. Any reform that doesn't address these issues is a half-baked reform," he said.

According to Guimarães, the president approved the bill simply to respect the decision of the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies, as the proposal is irrelevant. Furthermore, he stated that it will not apply to next year's elections. "The principle of annuality is an entrenched clause," he said.

Regarding the veto on the ban on advertising on private property, Guimarães commented: "That was basically all there was to this reform. If the president vetoed that part, what's left then?"