Teresa reopens dialogue with Alcolumbre as Senate and Planalto wear out

Senator Teresa Leitão's (PT-PE) first week as government leader in the Senate ended with the reopening of dialogue with the president of the House, senator Davi Alcolumbre (União-AP). The two had two meetings in recent days.

The parliamentarian took office amid the tension between the command of the Senate and the Palácio do Planalto. Alcolumbre's relationship with President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) has been strained since the defeat of Jorge Messias' nomination for a vacancy on the STF (Federal Supreme Court), which occurred at the end of April.

For allies and members of the government, as CNN found, Teresa's choice reinvigorated the relationship between the two Powers. Due to the opening with Alcolumbre, there is an expectation of a rapprochement between Lula and the president of the Senate - a topic seen by PT parliamentarians as one of the senator's "missions" in office.

To CNN, Teresa declared that she will treat the relationship between the two presidents in an "institutional" way and that she considers holding a meeting as a "personal decision" for Lula and the senator.

To minimize friction, the new leader declared that there had not been a "rupture" between Planalto and the Senate, as ministers and parliamentarians still maintain dialogue. On another front, however, the leadership relationship in the House, then exercised by Jaques Wagner (PT-BA), with Alcolumbre was already seen as frayed.

Teresa was appointed to replace Jaques, who was the target of a Federal Police operation regarding the Banco Master case. Until then, the parliamentarian was leader of the PT in the Senate. Appointed after a telephone conversation with Lula, the parliamentarian had her first meeting with the head of the Executive on Monday (29). The following day, she was received by Alcolumbre.

During a plenary session on Tuesday (30), she heard praise from Alcolumbre about her ability to articulate and that she will have a "very important mission" in the dialogue between the powers in leadership.

On Wednesday (1st), Alcolumbre met once again with Teresa and also with trade union centrals and senator Paulo Paim (PT-RS) to debate the end of the 6×1 scale. The proposal is a priority for the government, but it has not yet received a signal from Alcolumbre regarding a voting schedule.

Unlocking the reduction of working hours is another "mission" of the new government leader, in the words of President Lula himself. The text, however, faces resistance from economic sectors and has been blocked in the Senate since the end of May.

Teresa Leitão rejects the idea that the proposal is stalled. For her, the matter has followed a "script of debates" and negotiations before the process of its analysis can then be debated. As CNN showed, the tendency is for the agenda to move forward after the parliamentary recess, starting in August.

Initially, the intention of the government base was to guarantee approval in the Senate before the recess, which begins on July 18th. Now, with the tight calendar, however, PT senators already admit that the text should only move forward from August onwards.

In her first week, in addition to a series of meetings in Planalto and with Alcolumbre, Teresa Leitão also had a meeting with the PT bench to debate the choice of the group's new leader. Senator Camilo Santana (PT-CE) should assume the role and will be officially announced next Tuesday (7).

Another task that Teresa will have to deal with in her leadership involves projects considered "bomb agendas" by the government, that is, with a high fiscal impact. This is the case of the PEC of special retirement for community health workers and those fighting endemic diseases, which has an estimated impact of around R$28 billion over ten years.

The text was on the Senate's agenda to be analyzed on Tuesday (30), however, despite complaining about attacks, Alcolumbre chose to process the proposal in a more time-consuming manner - a target seen as a positive signal from the President of the Senate to the Executive. Now, it will be up to the government leader to postpone the vote or come up with agreements.

Dialogue with Congress was maintained, without institutional rupture, says Teresa Leitão | BEHIND THE SCENES CNN

Source: CNN