Eleven Facts that Show the Failure of Temer’s Government
The coupist government isn’t even good at carrying out their neoliberal and right-wing agenda.
Two months have gone by since Vice President Michel Temer achieved his goal of taking office temporarily as interim President of the Republic of Brazil, since the process of impeachment against Dilma Rousseff was approved by the Senate.
Over this short period of time, Temer’s interim government has incurred in a gross amount of mistakes and contradictions, which translate to lower rates in opinion polls, even in those made by the impeachment supporters.
A research carried out by Ibope, commissioned by the National Confederation of Industries (CNI), published last week, shows that 75% of the population rates the government as either fair, poor or very poor.
Why? Well, here’s a list of the failures of Temer’s first 60 days.
1. He appointed a ministerial cabinet entirely made up of rich, white old men. No women (50,81% of the population) nor Afro-Brazilians (50.7% of the population) whatsoever.
The last time females were absent in the highest rank of the government was during the Military Dictatorship. Temer’s administration justified their choice by arguing their criteria was choosing “notables”.
2. They are involved in the Lava Jato corruption case and conspire to end it.
The wiretapped conversations of Sérgio Machado, former President of Transpetro (formerly Petrobras), revealed that several members of the interim government desired to put a halt on the Lava Jato Operation, which seeks to research and trial cases of corruption surrounding that oil company. Three ministers fell due to the information that surfaced in this process: Fábio Medina Osório, from the Public Defenders’ Office, Romero Jucá (pictured above), interim Minister of Planning, and Fabiano Silveira, ironically, from the Ministry of Transparency
3. Temer is not as keen on fighting corruption as he pretends to be
Half of the ministers he appointed are involved in judicial investigations, denounces or processes. Furthermore, the leader of the Governance of the Chamber of Deputies, deputy André Moura, said on Tuesday 5 this month that Temer’s government should annul the Constitutional urgency of the package of laws to combat corruption
4. A highly criticized reorganization of ministries.
The interim government was quick to reorganize the whole ministerial system, shutting down offices and merging others. They even ordered to shut down the Ministry of Culture and merge it to the Ministry of Education, but they had to revert that decision after artists massively protested around the country
5. They don’t agree with each other on the most fundamental topics
One of them is the re-installation of the Temporary Tax on Financial Transactions (CPMF, as per the Portuguese acronym), which is supported by the Tax Minister, Henrique Meirelles, and criticized by other ministries and sectors akin to the government, such as the CNI and the Federation of Industries of the State of São Paulo (FIESP).
6. A vast portion of society openly resist them
Among other things, the agenda of the interim government, presented in two documents called “Bridge to the Future” and “Social Journey”, have been highly resisted by Brazilians.
7. Pressure by popular movements
The attempt to suspend the housing project “My House, My Life” was defeated by the mobilization of the Homeless Workers’ Movement (MTST).
8. They attempt to increase the amount of working hours, but they haven’t found support
The suggestion by the National Confederation of Industries (which is extremely close to the government) to increase the exploitation of workers by making them work 80 hours per week was ill-received by workers.
9. Their attempt to exploit the elderly also lacks support
Their plan to raise the minimum age to retire to 65 or 70 years is attacked even by government’s supporters, such as deputy Paulo Pereira da Silva.
10. Fiscal adjustment: Expectations vs. Reality
Their attempt of implementing a fiscal adjustment also clashes with the negotiations they are holding with diverse politicians to effectivize the impeachment against Rousseff. Some economists point out that, under Temer’s administration, there’s an increase in public expenditures: freeing of the Parliamentary amend, increase of the deficit in the fiscal goals, and renegotiation of the states’ debts could be some of the measures of this package.
11. Tense relationship between Temer and his right hand, Eduardo Cunha
Eduardo Cunha is regarded as a “hot potato” since he was suspended from his seat as President of the Deputy Chamber for corruption, money laundering and using his capacities to “destroy evidence, force testimonies, intimidate victims and obstruct investigations”. Temer’s government is working on guaranteeing a smooth transition in the Presidency of the Deputy Chamber and protect Cunha’s mandate, and the strategy included Cunha’s resignation.
Source: Brasil de Fato / July 12, 2016