New Faces at Congress | Rodrigo Maia is the fa …

The Chamber of Deputies and the Senate of Brazil yesterday inaugurated a new legislature and began preparing for the election of their new authorities, which will define the pace of projects proposed by the government of Jair Bolsonaro. The president, who was still hospitalized in San Pablo, was attentive to the session of the Congress which began yesterday in Brasilia.

The 513 deputies and 81 senators then took the oath of office of the deputies elected last October in the legislative elections held jointly with the presidential elections won by the leader of the emerging Brazilian extreme right. Joênia Wapichana, the first indigenous woman to occupy a seat in the country's parliamentary history, was among the new MPs. She was the subject of a tribute and a special ritual upon her arrival in Parliament.

In the House, the number of women elected in 2014 has increased by 51%, from 51 to 77 members this year. This means that the new camera will have 15% of women in its composition. If we consider the deputies of the State, women represent 15% of elected officials. There were 161 MPs, an increase of 35% over 2014.

Brazil is behind dozens of countries regarding the presence of women in politics. It ranks 115th in the world ranking of women's representation in parliament in 138 countries badyzed by the Women Inspiring Project (PMI).

The leftist opposition took advantage of the inaugural session to show signs in favor of the freedom of former President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, imprisoned since last April for corruption, which has generated scandals of the from the right sectors. Still with posters, the opposition denounced the "persecution" against Socialist Jean Wyllys, elected MP in October but who resigned from his mandate last week, after having decided to leave the country after receiving numerous threats of death.

The first minority of the lower house will be in the hands of the Workers Party (PT), the progressive opposition, which won 56 seats. The Liberal Social Party (PSL) of Bolsonaro comes in second place. testimony in other legislatures, but it will now occupy 52 of 513 seats. Of the 513 elected deputies, 269 are new or not in office, 244 have been re-elected and 253 are filling their first term in the Chamber of Deputies. Of the 269 considered as "new", 128 have previous experience as elected or appointed political officers in the trust function – and they have never exercised any previous political function. The PT and left-wing opposition parties will together have about 140 seats, the rest being in the hands of the center and right-wing forces that can constitute support blocs for Bolsonaro, and especially for the economic program. liberal who is preparing his government

To govern in the midst of this fragmentation, the largest since the country's re-democratization in 1985, Bolsonaro is committed to the transparent banks of the agro-food, security and Pentecostal churches, which have provided critical his election.

It is estimated that Bolsonaro would have a base of 300 members in the House, nearly three-fifths (308) required for constitutional amendments. And that at least 33 of the 81 senators would be aligned with their proposals.

The markets have received the victory of Bolsonaro with euphoria, but his Minister of the Economy, Paulo Guedes, must now demonstrate his ability to promote the reforms with which he intends to clean up the public accounts and revive an economy that takes off difficult of the recession of 2015- 2016

The Chair has already suggested that the main reform proposed to Parliament in this Parliament will affect the pension system, currently governed by the allocation system, which allows the state to manage contributions into a single fund that is funded. with deductions at source. the wages of the workers. The intention of Bolsonaro and its economic team is to impose an individual capitalization model, so that pension funds depend on what each worker can save throughout his life.

The favorite of the presidency of the lower house is Rodrigo Maia, of the Democratic Party (DEM), which is part of the official base and aspires to be re-elected to the post he has held since 2016. For the presidency of the Senate, he has announced a dozen candidates, among which stands Renán Calheiros, a veteran parliamentarian who has already held this post twice and who is part of a center-right opposition bloc.