Brazil’s president offers reforms to pacify protesters
Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff attempts to quell widespread protests by offering a national vote on amending the country’s constitution.
Ms Rouseff’s proposal of a referendum was approved at a meeting with governors and mayors the week after the country’s largest protests in 20 years.
Brazil’s last sweeping political reform was 25 years ago, when the current Brazilian constitution was ratified in 1988 by the last constitutional assembly, three years after the end of its military dictatorship.
“The streets are telling us that the country wants quality public services, more effective measures to combat corruption… and responsive political representation,” said Rousseff.
The streets are telling us that the country wants quality public services, more effective measures to combat corruption. Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff
She reiterated her support for the democratic spirit of most protesters gathering in Brazil’s biggest cities in recent weeks. At its peak, around 1 million people took to the streets of eight Brazilian cities last Thursday night to protest against the use of public money and poor public services.
As part of her “five pacts” with the Brazilian people, the president promised to prioritise health and education, and pledged an additional 50bn reais (£16bn) of investments in public transport that first set off the protests over two weeks ago.
She also addressed demonstrators’ demands to push ahead with her policies that have faced political resistance, such as setting aside future oil royalties for education and importing doctors from abroad.
But protesters are unlikely to see rapid improvements in their daily lives: a sluggish economy has left the president with little room to manoeuvre on the federal budget.
Outcome ‘hard to predict’
Politicians from across the political spectrum raised questions about whether she could deliver on such an undertaking.
Alberto Ramos, chief Latin American economist at Goldman Sachs, wrote in a note to clients: “The creation of a constituent assembly to deliver a deep-cutting political reform could add another element of medium-term uncertainty.
“These transformational events tend to take a long time and the final outcome is extremely hard to predict,” he added.
And concerns have already been voiced over whether it is possible to placate protesters whose demands vary but ultimately come down to disillusionment with government.
A constitutional reform could take years as the government must arrange a public vote calling an assembly to debate the overhaul of Brazil’s representative democracy.
Popularity slipping
Polls taken before the current wave of demonstrations showed public approval for the left-leaning Ms Rousseff had slipped to around 55 per cent – enough to win a second term in a single round of voting. She is widely expected to seek re-election next year.
Protests have eased since last Thursday, but social media points to another round of protests surrounding a football match on Wednesday between Brazil and Uruguay in the city of Belo Horizonte.
Football has become a focal point for protesters objecting to big funding for stadiums for the 2014 World Cup that they believe would be better spent on transport, education and hospitals.
The demands for better public services have raised concerns about looser government spending, which Rousseff sought to head off by introducing her agenda on Monday with a call for fiscal discipline.