Dear Friends,
The effective and pragmatically lived dimensions of the State crisis are beginning to be felt, in all their rigor, by the new government and especially by the economic team. The highlight, of course, is the recognition of the enormous difficulty faced in passing the agenda of reforms proposed by Paulo Guedes’s team of economists. Naiveté, ignorance and/or overconfidence can be a diagnostic for the team of economists, but they would not be for the Commander in Chief – at least, it should not be so.
So the result of these difficulties is that the recovery of the economy will be very slow. The expectation, therefore, is to overcome these obstacles by means of an ingenious negotiation and, of course, unlike anything we have seen in this field in recent years. The recent understanding and rapprochement of Presidents Bolsonaro and Maia is proof that it can work. However, this event seems particular due to a previous major stress – it would not be long lasting, even though President Bolsonaro does not seem to gather the attributes to constantly play this role. Nor does federation-wide pact seem likely from a point of view of continuous effectiveness (though valid!). We need something that truly “grounds” our “governance and governability,” strengthening our Federal Constitution and focusing on principles that guarantee this political, economic and social balance. Possibly a document as a Joint Statement of Intent by the three Branches of Government (albeit conversely to the initiative of the Executive), which could even be a landmark for bringing the country together. It is a Letter of Intent among powers that, in line with its specific constitutional functions, does not compromise democratic impartiality and accountability; that is, an instrument to provide solid foundations and to align independent and harmonic powers around essential values. In addition, and as it already happens in other countries, we need a well-organized center of government, with more defined attributions, assignments and responsibilities that do in fact coordinate and articulate intra-government and inter-powers as well as governmental spheres.
Managing these “governance and governability” does not seem to fit the structures that are currently in place. We need to reorganize, optimize and empower structures that give dynamics, agility, transparency and efficiency in these actions. A new government, with new paradigms and a differentiated approach, needs suitable and adequate structure and tools. The mindset and actions that the Bolsonaro government wants to implement are incompatible with the frame/structure in place. Adjustments and formulations like these would certainly be a nation-wide calling toward unification… after all, “to govern is to make believe”.
