January 16, 2024

15:01

Valéria Costa – From Cenarium Magazine

BRASILIA (DF) – The search for resources to boost investments and public policies at the municipal level has forced right-wing mayors who supported former President Jair Bolsonaro (PL) to turn to the government of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) to broker resources for works and improvements in their municipalities.

Unlike the Bolsonaro government, whose economic policy was neoliberal, i.e. it tended to control public spending, the Lula government is more social democratic and managed to approve a new spending ceiling, increasing the margin for public investment

In Amazonas, for example, despite the support of the mayor of Manaus, David Almeida (Avante), for former president Jair Bolsonaro (PL), the head of the municipal executive praised President Lula in March, calling him a “statesman” in an attempt to open a dialog with the federal government.

“He knew that I didn’t vote for him and that I didn’t support him, but he said: I don’t care which party you voted for, I don’t care who you supported, I want to support the people of Manaus”, the mayor recounted at the time.Search for federal funds forces mayors to ignore ideological issues

After this, investments from the federal government began to appear in the capital last year. The central government announced the construction of 4,400 homes in projects run by Manaus City Hall and the Amazonas State Government.

In December, David Almeida signed the contract to resume work on 500 housing units under the Minha Casa, Minha Vida program. In order to receive the investments, the mayor recreated the housing secretariat and appointed Jesus Alves, a nominee of Senator Eduardo Braga (MDB).

Own investment

In the case of municipalities, which live off federal and state transfers and occasionally borrow money from national and international banks to get investments off the ground, the change in economic policy was welcome.

Municipalities tend to find it difficult to make investments with their own revenue. Tax revenues such as IPTU and ISS are almost always spent on personnel or social security costs, according to experts.

The result of this first year in office was great flexibility in the release of financial resources for various federal government projects in the municipalities and states, whether in already established federal programs, through parliamentary amendments or through requests made directly by mayors and governors.

Two-way street

For Getulio Vargas Foundation political scientist Guilherme Soares, this phenomenon is natural, especially when it comes to a municipal election year like 2024. In addition, he pointed out, the average Brazilian voter is very much for center parties. He highlights the MDB, for example, which is the largest municipalist party in the country.

“As much as there has been a dichotomy, a duel between Bolsonaro and Lula, the average voter is very much in the center,” said the expert.

This rapprochement between mayors, in particular, regardless of their ideology, and the new federal government is necessary, said Soares, because of the dialog and interests of both parties. The government wants to maintain a cohesive base and wants support; the mayors want investment in their cities and also to return to office.

Guilherme Soares goes further: he says that the 2026 elections for president and governors are already starting with this year’s municipal elections and that this is “natural”.

“It’s important to think that within Brazilian municipalism there’s no way to have municipalities that fight with the state, in this case, and with the Federation as a whole. So this dialog between municipalities and federal power is extremely natural and common and, in election years, it intensifies more and more”, he said.

Read more: Before Bolsonaro, Manaus mayor says Lula was a statesman: ‘He didn’t care who I voted for’

Edited by Jefferson Ramos
Reviewed by Gustavo Gilona
Translated by Bruno Sena