Brazil acting govt completes a month amid positive agenda and political retreats

Brasília – Next Sunday (Jun 12), it will have been a month since Brazil’s Vice-President Michel Temer took over as acting president following the Senate decision to accept the impeachment charges against President Dilma Rousseff and suspend her from office to stand her impeachment trial. In the past four weeks, Temer put on a positive economic agenda but has faced political difficulties and drawbacks.

On Friday (10), the government announced it was going to slash 4,307 appointment-based managerial and aide roles within 30 days. In another move, Temer announced he would put any appointments to roles in state-controlled companies and pension funds on hold until the Chamber of Deputies has passed outstanding bills to limit these appointments to people with technical qualifications.

Concerning the economy, the interim president amended and approved a revised fiscal target for 2016, which sets a primary deficit of nearly $50 billion. Another measure that has been passed by the lower house and is now pending before Senate is a bill allowing the government to use part of its tax revenues in areas other than currently specified by law.

In these first 30 days, Temer’s administration enjoyed support from both Congress and the market, but social movements are critical of his administration and do not recognize his as a legitimate government. One of their complaints is an absence of black people and women in his staff.

His success securing approval of his agenda by legislators was largely favored by large congressional support. However, the interim president also sparked controversies over his cabinet reshuffle that eliminated ministries and because he was forced to step back in certain decisions and even fire such cabinet members as Planning Minister Romero Jucá and Transparency Minister Fabiano Silveira.

Temer has also retreated from his actions concerning the Ministry of Culture, which had been closed down in the cabinet reshuffle, but later reinstated amid pressure from artists and ministry staff. In the coming week, Temer will visit Congress to present a bill to set a ceiling for public spending, as announced by Finance Minister Henrique Meirelles.

Translated by Mayra Borges