The Senate approved in two rounds the Proposed Constitutional Amendment (PEC) that criminalizes the possession and carrying of any amount of drugs (45/2023), known as the Drugs PEC, authored by the President of the Senate, Rodrigo Pacheco (PSD-MG).
The project had 53 votes in favor and 9 against, in the first round, and 52 to 9, in the second round.
The constitutional amendment inserts into Article 5 of the Constitution an item that establishes as a crime the possession and carrying of any amount of drugs, already provided for in the ordinary law of 2006. In practice, the PEC does not alter the way marijuana use is currently treated in Brazil.
Although it configures possession and carrying as a crime, there is no provision for imprisonment for users and there are no defined parameters for differentiation between traffickers and users. The matter moves to the Chamber of Deputies.
In parallel, the Supreme Federal Court is in the midst of a trial, temporarily suspended, that flexibilizes the possession of drugs in small quantities.
SANITATION – Brazil advanced only 1% in the provision of sewage treatment services in one year, according to the new publication of the Trata Brasil Institute.
Research shows that Brazil has evolved very little in terms of access to water and sewage collection and treatment.
GDP – The National Confederation of Industry (CNI) predicts a 2.4% increase in Brazil’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2024. For industrial GDP, the institution projects an increase of 2.1% this year.
The expectation is that growth will be more balanced between sectors, with a 2% increase in Construction Industry and 1.7% in Manufacturing, unlike in 2023, when both declined. The Extractive Industry maintains a high growth rate (+3.1%).
The declines in inflation and interest rates, the warming of the labor market, and the possibility of greater access to credit are the main factors that have been providing more stimuli to the economy since the end of 2023, according to CNI comments.
FORECASTS – Financial market analysts lowered the inflation expectation for 2024 and began to project a higher economic growth in Brazil. The information is from the weekly report. Focus, from the Central Bank.
For 2024 inflation, analysts lowered the estimate to 3.71%. The reduction occurred after the good result of the IPCA in March — which decelerated to 0.16%. For 2025, the inflation estimate advanced to 3.56%.
For GDP growth this year, the projection rose to 1.95%. It was the ninth consecutive increase in the indicator. For 2025, the forecast for GDP growth from the financial market remained stable at 2%.
An important change occurred regarding the official interest rate. Market experts increased the Selic forecast at the end of 2024 from 9% to 9.3%, given the uncertainties in the economy.
As for the dollar, the projection for the exchange rate at the end of 2024 rose from R$ 4.95 to R$ 4.97.
PCC – The São Paulo Public Prosecutor’s Office launched an operation to dismantle a criminal group associated with the Primeiro Comando da Capital (PCC) faction, suspected of rigging bids throughout the state.
Three councilors from different cities in São Paulo and ten other people were arrested, showing the PCC’s penetration into political circles.
The PCC-linked gang had several companies and operated by forging competition to win bids, signing contracts with different city halls and municipal councils for the hiring of outsourced labor. The contracts total more than R$ 200 million in recent years.
LAVA JATO – The National Council of Justice (CNJ), by majority, decided to overturn the suspensions of judges Gabriela Hardt and Danilo Pereira, from Lava Jato.
The National Justice Ombudsman, Minister Luis Felipe Salomão, had determined the suspension of Hardt and Pereira Junior. They are, respectively, former and current heads of the 13th Federal Court of Curitiba, responsible for Operation Lava Jato.
Salomão’s decision entered the CNJ agenda this Tuesday. Most councilors disagreed with the ombudsman on the suspension of the judges. Among them, Minister Luís Roberto Barroso, president of the CNJ and the Supreme Federal Court (STF).
The Paraná Association of Federal Judges (Apajufe) called for a strike in protest against Minister Luis Felipe Salomão’s decision, ombudsman of the National Council of Justice (CNJ).
Reacting against the suspension of judges Gabriela Hardt and Danilo Pereira Junior, as well as the justices of the 4th Regional Federal Court (TRF4), Carlos Eduardo Thompson Flores and Lenz Loraci Flores de Lima.
In a statement, the association argues that this decision violates the free exercise of the profession and expresses concern about the “weakening of judicial guarantees.” The entity also challenges the grounds of the decision, considering them “generic.” In addition, it questions the fact that the suspension was determined on the eve of the case being heard in the CNJ plenary session.
Minister Salomão, in a monocratic decision, says that there were irregularities in the management of fines related to plea and leniency agreements closed within the scope of Lava Jato.
ONE TRILLION – The Central Bank (BC) reported that the Gross Debt of the General Government (DBGG) increased by R$ 1.077 trillion in the first 14 months of the third term of the Lula administration, reaching R$ 8.3 trillion in February of this year.
In December 2022, the debt-to-GDP ratio was 71.7%. The percentage rose to 75.6% from January 2023 to February 2024. The expectation is that the index will reach 77.5% this year and 80.1% in 2025.
MORAES – The Brazilian Bar Association (OAB) approved the text of the “anti-Moraes” PEC, which aims to guarantee the oral arguments of lawyers, especially in the Supreme Federal Court (STF), in all phases of judicial proceedings. The PEC will be forwarded to the National Congress.
COLD – With the first more intense cold of 2024, at least eight capitals are expected to record the lowest temperature of the year in the coming days.
According to Climatempo, the effects of the cold front are expected to begin in the South and extend to the Southeast and Midwest throughout the week.
AGENDA – President Lula is today in Colombia, where he will have meetings and sign joint acts with President Gustavo Petro.
On the schedule, he should participate in the closing of the Brazil-Colombia Business Forum.
Next, he will be at the inauguration of the 36th Bogotá International Book Fair.
EXCHANGE – Yesterday, the Dollar registered a 1.61% increase, quoted at R$ 5.2688, in the fifth consecutive session. For the year, it presents an appreciation of 8.56%.
The growing assessment of the impossibility of interest rate cuts in the US caused the increase. The real also suffers from the increased perception of domestic fiscal risk,
after signs of erosion of the fiscal framework, which culminated in the announcement of changes to primary outcome targets.
Fears of escalation of conflict in the Middle East, with a possible retaliation by Israel against Iran after attacks on Israeli soil over the weekend, contribute to the demand for dollars.
The real had the second worst performance among emerging currencies. The biggest losses were in the Mexican peso, in an apparent profit-taking movement.
ECONOMY – Bovespa Index, from the Stock Exchange, closed yesterday at 124,389 points, with a decrease of 0.75%
CURRENCIES
⬆ Commercial Dollar: R$ 5.18 (+1.24%)
⬆ Tourist Dollar: R$ 5.39 (+1.04%)
⬆ Commercial Euro: R$ 5.50 (+1.12%)
⬆ Tourist Euro: R$ 5.75 (+1.00%)
Closed at 124,389 points, with a decrease of 0.75%
By RENATO RIELLA
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