Sailing is necessary
Faced with a false consensus, I draw inspiration from Ulysses Guimarães to present ideas that will restore the credibility of the Senate.
Recent research has shown that the majority of Brazilians do not trust political parties. This phenomenon is caused by successive corruption scandals and the failure to resolve the population's main problems. And the stance of Parliament reinforces this negative perception.
On February 1st, the Federal Senate will elect another president, who will also be the president of the National Congress; in other words, the chosen one will be one of the pillars of Brazilian representative democracy.
A few days ago, in agreement with other senators, I presented a set of ideas to restore the credibility of the Senate. Among the suggestions, I highlight the need for ethical restoration and the guarantee of its independence from the other branches of government.
In a democracy, Parliament has three functions: to represent, to legislate, and to oversee. We fall far short in fulfilling these duties. The conduct of the representative has been distant from the will of the represented; we have failed to legislate on a national agenda, acting as a transmission belt for the Executive branch, and we have neglected our oversight function.
Our Federal Constitution provides for equality among the Three Branches of Government. But recent years have shown that Parliament has been a subordinate branch of government.
First, because of the juggernaut of provisional measures. The Executive branch uses this instrument indiscriminately, forcing Congress to approve them without debate and in shamefully short timeframes.
Then, due to the "judicialization" of politics, with the clear intervention of the Judiciary, which imposes legislation and challenges decisions made in Parliament, often responding to initiatives from the parliamentarians themselves who are unhappy with the outcome of the votes.
But the main cause of the Senate's loss of credibility is our inefficiency. In recent years, the House has accumulated positions that have tarnished its image before the Brazilian people, especially due to a lack of transparency, the failure to punish ethical misconduct in an exemplary manner, and the loss of its ability to act independently.
Some examples: after a three-year deadline set by the Supreme Federal Court, we have not been able to define how the State Participation Fund (FPE) will work, throwing the finances of some states into an abyss.
Around the same time, we were ridiculed for the shameful way we concluded the Cachoeira Parliamentary Inquiry Commission, with a paltry report and no indictments, giving the impression that we prefer to sweep scandals that tarnish the image of Parliament under the rug.
Inspired by Ulysses Guimarães, who, in 1973, launched his "anti-candidacy" for the Presidency against Geisel, thus advancing the process of redemocratization, I decided to put my name forward for the Senate race. I did this because a false consensus was taking hold and also because I do not agree with a House of Representatives whose habits are so far removed from the feelings of those it represents.
My candidacy aims to restore citizens' hope that the Federal Senate will oversee the Executive branch, approve laws that benefit the majority, and respect the federal pact, especially by guaranteeing differentiated treatment for the poorest regions of the country.
Thirty-nine years ago, when launching his "anti-candidacy," Ulysses said the following: "Our opponents, with their Cassandra-like voice and defeatist gaze, whisper the excellences of immobility and the invincibility of the establishment. They conjure up the idea that it's time to stay put and not to take risks."
Like Ulysses, I recall Fernando Pessoa's cry, so relevant to today's times: "To navigate is necessary. To live is not necessary."