The Budget, the Vetoes, and the Constitution

The resonance of what happens within Congress is low. The level of monitoring developed by the population regarding their representatives is weak. The result is that, often, information either does not reach society or arrives in a distorted way.

Democracy cannot do without a solid and legitimate Congress. Congress is the body that generates the laws that regulate social life in the country. Two of the most important laws in modern democracy are the Constitution and the Budget. They mark the break with the absolute power of the monarchy.

The Brazilian Congress, due to the political disarray of the Dilma government and the inertia of its support base, failed to vote on the 2013 Federal Budget. And it's pointless to look for scapegoats in the opposition, since they hold less than 25% of the Senate and Chamber of Deputies. This clearly hinders the execution of government actions and leads the government to unorthodox practices. There will be an attempt to vote on the 2013 Federal Budget in the coming days.

But there's a stumbling block. For 13 years, the National Congress has not reviewed presidential vetoes, leaving the legislative process incomplete. In this dynamic, Congress has lost role and power, and the Executive has grown larger, since it can issue Provisional Measures with immediate effect that, if modified by Congress, can be vetoed, and these vetoes are never considered. A true imperial presidential system.

During the vote on the veto of the law concerning oil royalties, the dedicated congressman Alessandro Molon (PT-RJ) challenged the Supreme Court and obtained a preliminary injunction from Justice Luiz Fux, determining that the veto could only be voted on after the other more than 3.000 vetoes that had been held up since 2000. This opened a window of opportunity for us to restore respect for the Constitution and the prerogatives of the National Congress.

Article 66 of the Constitution states in its paragraph 6: "If the deadline established in § 4 expires without a decision, the veto will be placed on the agenda of the immediate session, with all other proposals being suspended until its final vote...". It's that simple and clear: all other proposals, not just all other vetoes.

Much will be said and heard about this subject this week, but the essential issue at stake is the defense of democracy, the Constitution – its essential pillar – and the prerogatives of the National Congress, its fundamental institution. This is not about obtuse obstruction of the Budget nor an irresponsible and opportunistic strategy to overturn old vetoes with significant financial and social repercussions.

In times of Bolivarian totalitarian outbursts, freedom and democracy demand our constant vigilance. To trample on the guiding principles of democracy is to set a dangerous precedent. Either the Constitution is valid or it is not, and then democracy is at risk.

At the promulgation of the 1988 Constitution, Ulysses Guimarães said: "The persistence of the Constitution is the survival of democracy." There is no way to equivocate on this.