"I hope the Judiciary will not be intrusive in 2014."
In a year-end review and projections for 2014, the Speaker of the House affirms that he "will not accept any invasive position from the Judiciary" during the political reform scheduled to be voted on by April; soon in February, the Civil Framework for the Internet and the Mining Code promise to stir up lobbyists for and against; reflecting on the movements of the Supreme Court led by Joaquim Barbosa, Henrique Alves fears "a serious disagreement between the Powers"; a point that is causing great concern is the imminence of the Supreme Court accepting the OAB's (Brazilian Bar Association) injunction regarding the prohibition of private financing of electoral campaigns, something that the deputies seem very much want to continue.
247 - The Speaker of the House of Representatives ends 2013 and begins 2014 concerned about the risk of "invasive" positions from the Supreme Federal Court regarding the autonomy of the Legislative Branch. This is especially true in relation to the political reform, which is to be voted on by April of next year.
"I hope that the Judiciary will restrain itself within its constitutional limits, so that we do not have the embarrassment of resorting to, I won't say a confrontation, but a serious disagreement between the branches of government," said Henrique Alves in an interview with TV Câmara.
He insisted on the topic:
"This broad political reform project will go to the Plenary of the Chamber of Deputies," he reminded, warning that the Legislature "will not accept any invasive position from the Judiciary on this issue."
Regarding political reform, Henrique Eduardo Alves reminded everyone that the working group on the subject has already drafted a proposal (PEC 352/13), which will be voted on in a special committee. He added that this is an exclusive prerogative of Congress.
Currently, the Supreme Federal Court is judging the constitutionality of corporate donations to election campaigns. "I hope that the Judiciary will restrain itself within its constitutional limits, so that we do not have the embarrassment of resorting to, I won't say a confrontation, but a serious disagreement between the branches of government," he said.
TIGHT SCHEDULE - Alves acknowledged that next year's schedule will be tight due to the elections in the second half of the year and the World Cup in June. Furthermore, the agenda remains blocked by the Civil Rights Framework for the Internet (PL 2126/11) and other projects with constitutional urgency.
Nevertheless, the president remains optimistic about the votes. He stated that, in addition to the civil framework and the new Mining Code (PL 37/11), the regulation of domestic work (Complementary Law Project 302/13), already approved in the Senate, will be voted on.
Regarding the civil framework, Alves acknowledged that it is a complex issue, which made it difficult to reach an agreement to vote on the matter this year. "In February, we will have to vote anyway: either it is approved, or there is a defeat, either we win here, or we lose there, but we will vote," he assured.
Advances
Among the important proposals voted on by the House this year, Henrique Eduardo Alves highlighted the Ports Provisional Measure (Provisional Measure 595/12, converted into 12.815/13), approved on May 16. According to him, the measure will allow the modernization of Brazilian ports by attracting private capital.
"The instrument is proving to be efficient for privatization, giving competitiveness to Brazilian ports, which had been losing in international tenders," he declared.
Another proposal approved in the Chamber, celebrated by the president, was the one that provides for the allocation of oil royalties (PL 323/07). Transformed into Law 12.858/13, the text allocates 75% of oil revenue to education and 25% to health.
Alves also highlighted the enactment of the Domestic Workers' Constitutional Amendment, which became Constitutional Amendment 72; and the approval in the Chamber of Deputies of the Constitutional Amendment that makes transportation a social right (90/11) – the text is currently under review in the Senate. "I think these were important advances in the rights of people and Brazilian citizens," he stated.
Balance of Powers
Henrique Eduardo Alves also commented on the change in the voting process by Congress regarding presidential vetoes. He recalled that, for more than ten years, no veto was considered, due to the interpretation that the 30-day period for analyzing vetoes, stipulated in the Constitution, would begin to run from the reading of the vetoed text in a joint session of Congress.
Since no veto had been read, it was not voted on either. Therefore, Alves said, the Executive's final word prevailed, "conveniently and mistakenly." The Chamber's initiative to return the final decision in lawmaking to the Legislature, according to Alves, re-established "the relationship of dignity and respect" between the two branches of government. "This was a historic advance that this House owed to the country for many years," he added.
(With Agência Câmara)