Government wants PT united to avoid CPI (Parliamentary Commission of Inquiry).
Maintaining internal cohesion became a priority in order to confront rebellions at the base.
With pockets of internal insurgency in different parties within the government's base, the government's political strategy seeks to unify the PT (Workers' Party) to guarantee stability in votes in the Chamber of Deputies and to avert any risk of allies' dissatisfaction materializing in signatures for the creation of a Parliamentary Commission of Inquiry (CPI) to investigate allegations of corruption in the Executive branch.
The Minister of the Civil House, Gleisi Hoffmann, delivered the appeal. She met with the PT (Workers' Party) caucus in the Chamber of Deputies last week and made her message clear: “We hold the majority of the ministries, and those in the government must be responsible. The caucus is fundamental in defending the government.”
In recent days, the Planalto Palace has witnessed internal conflicts within its broad support base, and there is a fear that the leaders, the government's interlocutors, will no longer have as much control over their respective blocs. Those dissatisfied with the leadership, for example, may want to retaliate in votes, harming the interests of the Planalto.
In the PMDB, the second largest bloc in the Chamber of Deputies with 79 representatives, the movement of the group opposed to the actions of Henrique Eduardo Alves (RN) grew. In the PP, the rebellion resulted in the removal of leader Nelson Meurer (PR), from the group of the Minister of Cities, Mário Negromonte (PP-BA), and reached scandalous proportions.
According to a report published in Veja magazine, members of the party's congressional caucus informed the Minister of Institutional Relations, Ideli Salvatti, that Negromonte was allegedly promising a monthly payment of R$ 30 to party parliamentarians in exchange for their political support. The minister denied the accusation. Ideli, in turn, made it clear that the only information that reached the Presidential Palace was the division within the PP caucus.
So far, the internal rebellions have not negatively affected the government. In the only vote where this loyalty was put to the test, last week, the base ensured the approval of changes to the structure of the Post Office, foreseen in a provisional measure, even with some defections in the PMDB. The vote marked the debut of the PR in its announced position of independence, with the votes mostly against the government's orientation. Of those present from the PR, only Luciano Castro (PR-RR), deputy leader of the government in the Chamber, voted with the government.