Arthur Lira re-elected Brazil’s house speaker

In an unprecedented victory, federal representative Arthur Lira, from the center-right Progressive Party, was re-elected Wednesday (Feb. 1) to the post of lower house speaker by 464 votes—far above the 257 needed to win (the equivalent of half of the 513 Congress people plus one). He will be in charge of the Brazilian lower house for the next two years.

Arthur Lira is in his fourth term and was the federal representative candidate with the most votes in the state of Alagoas in last year’s elections. Among the priorities of his administration, he said, is the approval of the tax reform.

The winning representative pledged to build a relationship with the Executive Branch free of subordination—a pact to improve and advance public policies, “based on listening to the opinions and suggestions of our committees carefully.”

Also in his inauguration speech, the house speaker condemned the anti-democratic uprising of January 8: “To the vandals and chaos-mongers that staged the rally on January 8, I say: In Brazil, no political regime will prosper outside of democracy. There will never be a Brazil without free elections and representatives chosen by popular vote,” he said.

Running against Lira were representatives Chico Alencar, from the Solidarity Party, who received 21 votes, and Marcel Van Hatten, from Novo, with 19. Five ballots were blank.