Lower house speaker says PMDB eager to leave government
The president of Brazil's Chamber of Deputies, Eduardo Cunha
The president of Brazil's Chamber of Deputies, Eduardo Cunha, said today (Jul 16) that the PMDB (Democratic Movement Party), the party of which he is a member, will only maintain its alliance with the PT (Workers' Party) until the end of the current government to fulfill the commitment made at the elections and preserve the nation's governability. The political party, Cunha argues, is not “unlikely” to leave the government coalition at some moment; however, he added, that would not be the “ideal” decision.
“It is a way of telling society that we're there to offer governability because we've made this commitment, but we're dying to get out,” said the lower house speaker.
While talking about his first semester as head of the Chamber of Deputies, Cunha explained that the PMDB has made a pledge with the country and that the population would not understand if the party chose to leave at his point, adding that “if there's a party I would not like to forge an alliance with, that would be the PT.”
The politician stated that the PMDB has never been part of the government, and that presiding over some of the ministries “doesn't mean anything.”
“The PMDB is not in the government. The ministers are, but if you look at all the structure below, it's all from the PT. The PMDB can't tell ministries what to do. We get the pain but not the gain.” Cunha explained that the partnership with the PT was met with less than 40 percent of support from PMDB members, and that his party only served to vote and never to formulate government policy.
On Wednesday (15), Cunha, along with vice-President Michel Temer and head of Senate leader Renan Calheiros confirmed that the political party will field its own candidate for the 2018 presidential elections. According to Cunha, the statement made by Temer and Renan show that PMDB members are now speaking “the same language.” “The PMDB has taken a political stance. All its leaders and influential members think alike. We can't stand the alliance with the PT any longer,” he stated.
Political articulation
Eduardo Cunha once again argued for Michel Temer's leaving the government's political articulation as soon as the fiscal adjustment measures are fully implemented. “He took over the articulation at the most critical moment of the governability crisis. If he hadn't done that, the adjustment measures wouldn't have passed, but, in my opinion, he shouldn't continue,” he said.
In his judgment, the current political and economic crisis facing the country is likely to undermine Rousseff's administration. Cunha once again mentioned the adoption of a parliamentary system as a solution to the country. If that was the country's current system, he pointed out, Brazil would not be suffering such an institutional and political crisis. He further announced that the topic will be brought to discussion as soon as members of both congressional houses return from holiday which starts next week.
“The deterioration of unemployment scenario will exert a lot of pressure on the deputies, who will not leave their electoral districts during the holiday. They tend to come back considerably more strict,” he pondered.
Despite the criticism, the speaker of the Chamber of Deputies made a point of saying he wishes President Dilma Rousseff all the best. “Political instability and ungovernability are not good for anyone,” he said.
Translated by Fabrício Ferreira
Fonte: Lower house speaker says PMDB eager to leave government
