MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Lula vetoes increase in number of Congresspeople

Congress may still overturn the president's objection

Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva vetoed a Congressional bill increasing the number of federal deputies from 513 to 531, which was published Thursday in the Diário Oficial da União (Official Gazette - DOU).

In a message to Congress, Lula justified his measure, saying it was contrary to public interest and the Constitution. The Ministries of Justice and Public Security, Finance, Planning and Budget, and the Attorney General's Office expressed their opposition to the measure, citing various legal provisions, such as the Fiscal Responsibility Law.

”By providing for an increase in the number of parliamentarians, the measure entails an increase in mandatory expenses, without a complete estimate of the budgetary impact, budgetary source forecast, and compensation measures, burdening not only the Union but also federal entities (Federal Constitution, art. 27). Furthermore, art. 6, sole paragraph, of the Complementary Bill is in disagreement with art. 131, IV, of the 2025 Budget Guidelines Law, since it provides for the possibility of monetary adjustment of public expenditure,” read a message from the Presidency.

The text was approved by lawmakers at the end of June in response to a requirement by the Federal Supreme Court (STF). The Court ruled on a lawsuit filed by the government of Pará that pointed out the Legislature's failure to update the number of representatives by population changes, updated by the demographic census every ten years. Pará argued that it would have been entitled to four more representatives since 2010. The last update was in 1993.

The STF then ruled that Congress should vote on a law to redistribute the representation of federal deputies in relation to the proportion of the Brazilian population in each state and the Federal District. The Constitution stipulates that no unit of the Federation may have fewer than eight or more than 70 deputies.

At the time, deputies did not want to reduce the number of parliamentarians from some units of the Federation according to proportional criteria. If this rule were followed, Rio de Janeiro, Bahia, Paraíba, Piauí, Rio Grande do Sul, Pernambuco, and Alagoas could lose seats.

Instead, the bill approved by the House increased the number of seats for states that have experienced population growth and could generate a cost of R$65 million (US$11.71 million) per year with new structures. Another impact would be parliamentary amendments that the new representatives would be entitled to propose within the scope of the Federal Budget.

In addition, with the increase in the number of federal deputies, the number of state deputies would also change, according to the constitutional provision. Legislative assemblies must have triple the state's representation in the Chamber of Deputies, with a cap of 36. As a result, the impact on state budgets would be between R$2 million (US$0.36 million) and R$22 million (US$3.96 million) per year.

Following President Lula's veto, parliamentarians will have 30 days to review the measure and may uphold or overturn the veto. If upheld, the redistribution of seats will be carried out by the Superior Electoral Court by October 1, in accordance with the STF's decision. (Source. Agencia Brasil)