After dinner, Maia and Guedes apologize for friction and defend reforms | Politics

During a dinner convened by parliamentarians, with goat stew on the menu, both defended pacification and the continuity of the reform agenda.

“In my last choice [para presidência da Câmara]The only person from the government who supported me was Minister Paulo Guedes. In the days after the presidency, due to differences, mistakes – and I assume mine – we moved away and, now, in the pandemic, more. Even last week, I left my apology, I was impolite and rude. He’s not like me, on the contrary, ”Maia declared.

“I never offended President Rodrigo Maia. This is not a personal offense, it was an exchange of views. President Rodrigo Maia said: ‘Look, you are delaying the tax reform.’ And I: ‘Look, what about the privatizations there?’ These are exchanges of opinion. There is no offense. Now, if I have offended President Rodrigo Maia or any politician who may have inadvertently offended, I also apologize. It’s not a problem, ”Guedes said next.

While Maia spontaneously apologized, Guedes’ speech was prompted by a question from a journalist at the end of the speeches, when the mayor had already left the venue.

During the joint statement, during the dinner break, Guedes and Maia defended a joint action by the Executive and the Legislature to promote structural reforms, an issue that generated public disagreements.

“[Eu] I told the minister and everyone present that the fiscal situation in Brazil, due to the pandemic and not due to the circumstances of the Bolsonaro government, was a very dramatic situation. And that we had to be united within the spending ceiling to find solutions. The solutions for the cash transfer program, which must be created, with all the difficulties that we will have, ”said Maia.

“From a technical point of view, all this is elaborated, there is nothing new. Basic income, citizenship income, income from Brazil, it is even quite different from emergency aid. Emergency aid is for people, it is direct , is in case of emergency. Renda Brasil is much more structured, consolidating 27 social programs, “said Guedes.

“It was part of our campaign. It was already ready there. So these things are basically ready, but the time for reforms is always politics. When the pandemic hit us, it delayed our schedule. And it created all these discomforts, disagreements.” he continued.

Senate President Davi Alcolumbre (DEM-AP) also attended the dinner, although he was not involved in the attrition between Maia and Guedes. According to him, the approach was “fundamental”.

“This gesture of rapprochement was fundamental so that, starting tomorrow, we can turn the page in this collective construction. Each one assuming his responsibility, within the institutional role, in a republican and democratic way. This meeting today marks a new beginning of this relationship, frankly, honestly, with divergence, it is natural for public life to diverge, but always respecting, dialoguing, to build consensus, because if we raise dissent, we cannot build consensus “, declared the president of the Senate, Davi Alcolumbre ( DEM-AP).

The dinner, organized by parliamentarians, took place at the home of the Minister of the Federal Court of Accounts (TCU) Bruno Dantas. Maia arrived accompanied by the leader of the MDB in the Chamber, Deputy Baleia Rossi (MDB-SP).

The meeting was also attended by the Minister of the Government Secretariat, Luiz Eduardo Ramos -who arrived with Guedes-, Senators Renan Calheiros (MDB-AL) and Eduardo Braga (MDB-AM) and TCU Ministers José Múcio and Vital do. Ditch.

Guedes and Maia had been involved in public clashes in recent weeks. The most recent occurred last Wednesday (30), when the mayor described the Minister of Economy as “unbalanced.”

Maia is reacting to an earlier statement by Guedes, who accused the mayor of “siding with the left” and hampering the Jair Bolsonaro government’s privatization agenda. Despite public criticism, Maia and Guedes agreed to meet on Monday.