As of February 1st, the Legislative Assembly of Paraná (Alep) begins the 45% renewed legislature, with a oxygenated opposition bench and with positions on the board of directors, but still with a large majority of the government base of Ratinho Jr. The largest party bench will be PSD, the current governor, with 15 deputies, followed by União Brasil and PT, with 7.
The presidency should remain in the hands of the government deputy Ademar Traiano (PSD), while the opposition Goura (PDT) and Dr. Antenor (PT) should assume the third and fifth secretaries of the house’s direction. Strengthened by the election in the first round for a second term, the current governor will try to move forward with his privatization agenda, fiscal adjustment and cuts in the civil service in areas such as education and security, as well as outsourcing.
For Traiano, the next administration of Governor Ratinho Junior (PSD) should have a solid parliamentary support base. “If we were to analyze the political forces that aligned with the governor, we will have around 40 deputies who will support him. So, I believe that the government will have no difficulty in having a strong base of support”, he said.
Privatizations
The sign that he will try to impose his agenda was given by the governor even before the new deputies took office. At the end of 2022, Ratinho, taking advantage of the World Cup period, and the transition to a new federal government, and a minor opposition in the Assembly, carried out a package of bills that authorized the sale of shares in the energy company Copel, outsourcing in the penitentiary system, creation of new secretariats and outsourcing in the management of state university hospitals.
For elected deputy Goura (PDT), despite the increase in the opposition bench, the challenges to try to stop the advance of more privatizations by Ratinho Jr will be great in Alep. “The opposition bench had an increase, but within a power game with the government base, it is not so significant. What we see is that a second term for Ratinho Jr is very worrying, as it gives strength to projects that are not in the interest of the people of Paraná. We saw him advance in projects that privatized Copel and university hospitals”, he says. Goura also warns that the opposition should be very attentive to the new programs of the Ratinho administration. “We can expect the worst, more privatizations, the herd going through the environmental guidelines. The opposition will have to be very diligent, very attentive to block setbacks, and move forward in public policies for Paraná”, he analyzes.
The relationship between the government of Paraná and the Lula government should also be on the agenda in the corridors of the Assembly and in the plenary of the house. The opposition has been trying to stop the sale of Copel shares, and to undermine the new agreement for toll collection on Paraná highways made between the Ratinho Jr administration and the Bolsonaro government.
State deputy Arilson Chiorato, president of PT Paraná, was on Thursday, 26, in Brasília, meeting with president Lula to talk about the subject. Although the project submitted by Ratinho Jr. authorizing privatization was approved by the deputies at the end of last year, the parliamentarian believes that the new federal government, contrary to privatizations, can reverse the process.
On the challenges of the opposition bench in Alep, Chiorato points out that the year will be one of political construction. “The newly elected bench is larger, with eight deputies, seven from the PT and one from the PDT. It is having a debate on Paraná and trying to stop the setbacks that the governor is trying to impose, such as the privatization of Copel and the toll issue, it will be a year of a lot of political construction”, he says.
Agreement for direction
The election of the new board of directors of Alep should have an agreement and a single ticket, with the maintenance of the presidency of deputy Ademar Traiano (PSD). For Goura, the composition with government sectors and participation of the opposition camp in the board of directors of the house will help the opposition to occupy spaces. “Due to the game of forces, we understand that for the opposition it may be more advantageous to have a composition that aims to strengthen Parliament, but also the spaces and structural guarantees for the work of parliamentarians”, he says.
Source: BdF Paraná
Editing: Frédi Vasconcelos
