The government accelerated funding for Amapá after Alcolumbre scheduled an interview with Flavio Dino and Gonet

The government of President Luís Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) accelerated the allocation of federal funds to the state of Amapa after Senator Davi Alcalúmbre (União Brasil-AP) scheduled hearings for Paulo Gannet Branco and Flavio Dino in the Constitution and Justice (CCJ), presided over by a native of Amapa . Gone and Dina are Lula’s nominees for the Attorney General’s Office (PGR) and the Federal Supreme Court (STF), respectively.

Alcolumbre scheduled the hearing on the same day Lula announced the selection of Gonnet and Dino for the PGR and STF, Monday, November 27. In the following three days, the government allocated 73.9 million reais to Amapá. In one day, on Thursday, the 30th, the federal government promised, that is, reserved for payments, 55.4 million R $. This is the fourth-highest federal commitment day for the Upstate in all of 2023 through this Wednesday, the 6th, the latest date available in the system.

The amount refers to financing and investment, excluding expenses with federal personnel working in Amapá. Of the R$73.9 million allocated that Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, the majority (R$60.5 million) was introduced through parliamentary amendments, mostly from the bench (R$59.7 million). Most of the resources will be implemented through the actions of the Ministry of Regional Integration and Development (MIDR), which is run by Alcalúmbra’s ally, former governor of Amapá Valdez Goes.

This is not the first time that the release of federal investment for Amapá coincides with the fulfillment of government requests to the Commission on the Constitution and Justice chaired by Alcalúmbra. On October 24, the state of the senator recorded the second largest amount of obligations on the resources of the Union this year – 61.8 million reais. The money came days after Alcolumbre announced the hearing of three names nominated by Lula to the Supreme Court (STJ). The hearings took place the day after the trials, on October 25.

On this occasion, Lula chose judges José Afranio Villela (from TJ-MG) and Teodoro Santos (from TJ-CE), as well as lawyer Daniela Teixeira. The trio’s hearings were put on hold for nearly three months while Alcalumbre set a date. The delay in scheduling the hearing caused displeasure among Lula’s aides at the time, who attributed the delay to the senator’s strategy to gain the right to negotiate with the executive branch. The Senate eventually approved their names and they are now members of the STJ.

For Fundação Getúlio Vargas (FGV) São Paulo professor Elida Grazián, this week’s episode shows the replacement of evidence-based public policy by political expediency. “The lack of clarity about the government’s allocation priorities can be found in the speed and intensity of the implementation of the budget through parliamentary amendments. Freeing more resources for the electoral base of some parliamentarians in the run-up to important executive votes shows how much the maintenance of impersonal public policy planning is being neglected to give way to balkanized budget management,” she says. .

The problem has gotten worse in recent years, Grazian says, when much of the federal investment has been turned over to Congress. “With ever-shrinking budget margins for discretionary primary spending, prioritizing such parochial amendments to the detriment of what was planned jeopardizes the very quality of public services as it exposes citizens to a regime of perks and benefits, rather than a universal regime. rights and rules,” she says.

“It would be a scandal in any serious country. But in Brazil, unfortunately, such information ends up being seen as mere coincidence. Amapa is the penultimate state in terms of population and is among the states for which the most budget amendments have been allocated this year. There are no technical criteria that would justify such a discrepancy. Unfortunately, we see the Senate Judiciary Committee being used for purchase and support,” he says. Estadao Deputy Adriano Ventura (Nova-SP). As a member of the Joint Budget Committee, Ventura is one of the main opponents of the excessive expansion of parliamentary amendments in recent years.

Almost half of the money allocated to Amapá, 29.1 million reais, went to paving works in the municipalities of Calchoene, Tartarugalzinho and the capital of Macapa. But there is money for the construction of public markets (“producers’ fair”) and even a poultry slaughterhouse, in addition to purchasing didactic materials and snacks for students.

Amendments are changes made by MPs and senators to the budget, which are used by politicians to direct money to jobs or services where they have a say. Of the R$60.5 million allocated for parliamentary amendments for Amapá at the end of November, two-thirds (R$40.2 million) went through the Ministry of Regional Integration and Development (MIDR), commanded by former governor Valdez Goes, recommended by Alcolumbre.

Another 14.5 million Brazilian reals were invested through the Ministry of Tourism by Celso Sabina – a licensed deputy of the União Brasil do Pará. Sabino arrived at the Esplanade as part of the government’s efforts to please the Centrão in Congress, of which he is a member.

Alcalumbro’s promptness in scheduling the hearings works to the government’s advantage, as does the Amapa native’s decision to hold a joint session to analyze both names: next Wednesday the 13th, the Senate CCJ will meet to analyze Gane and Dino’s names at once. The joint format is expected to eventually soften criticism of Flavio Dino, who opposition senators see as a preferred target.

This Wednesday (6), Senators Jacques Wagner (PT-BA) and Weverton Rocha (PDT-MA) presented their opinions to the CCJ of the Senate in favor of the nomination of Gagne and Dean, respectively. Davi Alcolumbre contacted Estadao through his office, but said he would not comment. The minister responsible for political coordination of the government, Alexander Padilya (institutional relations), was also contacted, but he decided not to comment.

The use of analysis of CCJ nominations as a pressure tool for the former Senate President is not entirely new. In 2021, under the government of former President Jair Bolsonaro (PL), Alcolumbr blocked for several months the analysis of the appointment of the then General Prosecutor of the Union Andre Mendonça for the vacancy in the STF – he preferred the appointment of the then General Prosecutor of the Union Andre Mendonça. the Prosecutor General of the Republic, Augusta Aras, for the vacancy. In the end, Mendonza waited more than four months to analyze his candidacy, and the CCJ of the Senate did not work for a month.

The situation was reversed only after intense pressure from evangelical leaders, which resulted in the former Senate President losing support in the House of Representatives. Under Bolsonaro, Alcalúmbre also banned the analysis of the nominations of candidates for the National Council of Justice (CNJ), which created a backlog of work in that body.