The House floor this week approved what it terms a “mini” electoral reform. In reality, the new rules will significantly reduce electoral oversight and transparency, increase the leeway of political parties to spend public funds, and weaken diversity instruments for the representation of women and people of color.
If approved by the Senate and signed into law by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva by October 6, the reform may already be in play for the 2024 municipal elections.
The bill was drafted by a working group, a favorite tool of House Speaker Arthur Lira. The speaker has discretion to choose the makeup of working groups, unlike formal committees — which must follow proportional representation according to the size of party benches.
Following Mr. Lira’s modus operandi, the bill vote was fast-tracked. Created on August 23, the working group wrapped up operations in less than a month. The House floor approved a motion of urgency hours before the vote on the bill, bypassing other committee debates.
The group was chaired by Congresswoman Dani Cunha, daughter of former Speaker Eduardo Cunha, who gained infamy presiding over the impeachment of former President Dilma Rousseff in 2016 and later served over four years in prison for corruption (his...
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