The Senate approved this Thursday (30) a proposed amendment to the Constitution) that institutes a state of emergency to allow President Jair Bolsonaro (PL) to break the spending ceiling and open public coffers for just over three election months.
The text gives the government the go-ahead to boost social programs until the end of the year without running into restrictions in the electoral law, which exist to prevent the use of the public machine in favor of any candidate. Bolsonaro ranks second in polls, behind former president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT).
The measures will have a total cost of R$ 41.25 billion – a value greater than the R$ 38.75 billion agreed on the day before, in yet another movement to increase the bill. When the measures to tackle the rise in fuel prices began to be discussed, the extra expense was projected at R$ 29.6 billion.
The PEC provides for the temporary expansion of Auxílio Brasil by R$ 200, bringing the minimum benefit to R$ 600 by the end of the year. The text also authorizes the government to eliminate the Auxílio Brasil queue, create aid for self-employed truck drivers and double the value of Auxílio Gás.
The proposal was approved in the first round by 72 votes in favor, including the opposition, and only 1 against, by Senator José Serra (PSDB-SP). In the second round, there were 67 votes to 1. The PEC now goes to the Chamber of Deputies.
Translated by Kiratiana Freelon