On August 11, Fundação Getulio Vargas welcomed the president of the House of Representatives, Rodrigo Maia, to talk about the reform agenda currently being reviewed by the Brazilian Congress and the security crisis outbreak in Rio de Janeiro. Hosted by FGV’s Department of Public Policy Analysis (DAPP) and EPGE Brazilian School of Economics and Finance, the event’s opening ceremony was given by the president of FGV, Professor Carlos Ivan Simonsen Leal. The panel also included the participation of the director of DAPP, Marco Aurelio Ruediger, and the dean of EPGE, Rubens Penha Cysne.

The congressman kicked off his presentation by highlighting the main challenges currently faced by the country, as well as the role of the Legislative Branch in accurately diagnosing and correcting these issues.

“These are huge challenges. Since the redemocratization process and the 1988 Constitution, we started to pass new laws and amendments that have led the country into multiple crises, the most important of which is the fiscal crisis, which just might be unsolvable, especially for the states. The Supreme Court’s historical decision not to raise salaries will surely prompt major decisions in the Executive and Legislative branches. This is a clear sign that the Spending Cap PEC [Proposed Constitutional Amendment] has raised future impacts and concerns among all branches of power. This decision is a major turning point, allowing us to address Brazil’s actual issues,” he said.

When addressing the reforms proposed by the government, which have been extensively discussed in Congress, Rodrigo Maia pointed out that the Brazilian State has to be rebuilt. According to Maia, it is essential for the social security reform to be voted and passed, seeing as this particular area’s deficit for 2018 already amounts to BRL 50 billion. He praised the text currently reviewed by the House, particularly the points that try to eliminate perks in public service and establish a minimum retirement age.

“We believe that these reforms strengthen public services in critical areas. But we also want to eliminate the privileges of the private sector. Current tax relieves are unfair, since many of the benefited sectors generate a small number of jobs. So, this is a very high cost. We have to tackle all of these challenges, one by one,” he said.

The congressman also spoke about the need to perform a political reform, currently under debate in Congress. Rodrigo Maia criticized the potential adoption of the system in which each state is an electoral district (the so-called distritão) as a model for proportional representation, without defining a high performance clause. However, Maia showed some optimism regarding the mixed-district voting model for the 2022 elections.

“One of the most beneficial advancements of passing the political reform is the mixed-district vote for 2022. In two elections, we will be able to have a system that can actually reinstate the legitimacy that politics desperately need, not only for those running for election, but for society as a whole. This will be a major victory for democracy, which is an electoral system that can create a new scenario for society,” he said.

Finally, Maia talked about the severe crisis currently faced by Rio de Janeiro, especially regarding public safety. He pointed out that the state has reached a scenario of social convulsion, and that he was one of the advocates of federal aid to help fight crime. He also criticized Brazil’s public safety model.

“Brazil’s public safety laws are irrational. A system where the government does not have hands-on control over the country’s public safety, despite knowing that the number-one crime in major Brazilian cities is the illegal smuggling of guns and weapons into the country – which is a transnational crime –, is a system that neglects the responsibility of the country’s most important entity. I believe that the Brazilian government should have already taken control over this area. I believe that the Brazilian Congress, along with the Ministry of Justice and Defense, and the states’ secretaries of security, has to revamp Brazil’s public safety laws in order to make it easier to fight organized crime,” he said.

In conclusion, Maia stated that Brazil has to change in order to start growing again. According to him, it is essential to lay out favorable conditions for the private sector to invest and, as a result, generate jobs.

“Brazil has to change. It has to modernize its processes and understand that the private sector will generate jobs, as long as it has the right conditions to do so. I think that is the main social policy of any respectable country. In order to solve Brazil’s problem, we must create conditions for the private sector to invest, generate jobs and promote citizenship among Brazil’s society,” he said.