Senator Rodrigo Pacheco (PSD-MG) was re-elected, this afternoon (1st), President of the Senate for the next two years. The election took place at the second preparatory meeting this Wednesday, the day that also marked the inauguration of the senators elected in October 2022 and the beginning of the legislative year in the House. Pacheco defeated Rogério Marinho (PL-RN) and Eduardo Girão (Podemos-CE). The latter even spoke as a candidate, but later withdrew his candidacy to support Marinho.
Pacheco won by 49 votes against 32. There were no blank votes. The result did not bring big surprises in relation to previous estimates. Pacheco had the support of most parties in the House, including the PT, MDB and his party, the PSD, two of the largest groups. On the other hand, Marinho had support from the PL. About a week ago, the PSD senator was expected to win by 55 votes, a much larger margin than that obtained. Marinho counted on “betrayals” to turn the tide. Betrayals, senators who go against their party’s support orientation, occurred, but they were not enough.
In his speech after his reappointment to office, Pacheco condemned what he called the “toxic polarization” prevailing in Brazil. He attributed the terrorist acts at the Esplanada dos Ministérios on January 8 to her and stated that such events “cannot and will not be repeated”.
“Brazilians need to go back to civilized disagreements, they need to recognize with absolute sobriety when defeated and they need to respect the authority of public institutions. There is only order if they do so. There is only patriotism if they do. There is only humanity if they do so”, said the re-elected president. Then, Pacheco attributed to the political class the responsibility of combating undemocratic practices.
“Hate speech, lying speech, coup speech must be discouraged, denied and fought. Political leaders who are committed to Brazil know this. Political leaders who are committed to the future of Brazil cannot ignore this moment”, he said. “And the message that the Federal Senate sends to Brazil now is that we will maintain the intransigent defense of democracy”.
campaign speeches
Girão, in his speech as a candidate, stated that the Senate is “demoralized” and attributed this to the “overlapping of one Power over the other”. The Podemos senator is known for constantly criticizing ministers of the Federal Supreme Court and asking for the opening of impeachment proceedings against some of them. At the end of his speech, he announced the withdrawal of candidacy and support for Rogério Marinho.
Pacheco, on the other hand, highlighted the approval of several projects in defense of women and also in the fight against racism during his mandate. He also recalled the creation of the opposition leadership and the approval of projects of urgent social interest, such as the approval of the increase in Auxílio Brasil and the reduction of fuel prices. He also cited the shelving of Parliamentary Commissions of Inquiry (CPI) that were harmful to the government at the time and that “would contaminate the electoral process”. “It takes courage to be president of the Senate and face the challenges that this represents.”
Marinho was the last to speak. Debuting in the House and linked to Bolsonarism, Marinho opposed the terrorist acts of January 8 in Brasília, even though he did not directly mention the episode. He affirmed the need to combat “radicalism and barbarism” practiced “by any of the ideological spectrums of the political field, both on the right and on the left”. He stated that the Senate needs to act to pacify the country and indicated that there is an imbalance between the Powers, echoing Girão’s speech. He also referred to the House’s credibility crisis with society, and said it was his commitment to reconnect the Senate with the country.
counting of votes
The meeting was conducted by the Vice President of the Senate, Veneziano Vital do Rêgo (MDB-PB), since the President of the House was one of the candidates. After speeches by the three candidates, Pacheco, Marinho and Girão, the senators were called, one by one, to deposit their votes in the ballot box located on the table from which the works are conducted. Senators were called in order of seniority from their states. Thus, the first to vote were the senators from Bahia and the last from Roraima.
To win, it was necessary to win 41 votes, but the senators also had an eye on the size of the victory. A greater margin of votes means more support within the House and, consequently, easier negotiation of agendas of interest to the President of the Senate and his allies.
