Doubting the outcome of the case is not trivial, since the issue of the “secret budget” is politically sensitive, but at the same time it raises serious problems of constitutional law, especially with regard to transparency, equality, efficiency in public spending and, above all, its absence. republicanism.
“She used every resource to keep things going in harmony”
Minister Weber’s past experience provides a clue to her merits. The fact that he is a professional judge already indicates more preparation for a more restrictive and dogmatic application of the Law and less room for judicial activity.
This is important because the point is not what it seems at first glance, but just a simple judicial activity against a policy (represented by Parliament). It is, on the contrary, about strengthening the rules of the game established by the Law in the face of politics! It is worth noting that, paradoxically, a minister who does not have a political profile will be inclined to apply the Law.
Signs in this sense have already been given in the prescriptions she issued last year – in December she allowed the resumption of the payment of the speaker’s amendments (the basis of the “secret budget”), which she herself had suspended the previous month. but requiring measures to precisely guarantee the principles of publicity, impersonality and transparency in the use of public resources.
It is true that, in legal jargon, an injunction is a temporary decision that can be changed, but it is also a human decision in terms of behavioral psychology, and as such, it carries a status quo bias (lawyers know how difficult it is for judges to refuse from their beliefs after the decision).
But even if there had been a political element in the minister’s decision, perhaps her republicanism would have spoken louder. Her inaugural address was indicative of her republican vision, although she can be described as a particularly gaucho (she quoted the Rio Grande anthem in her inauguration inspired by Argentine positivism). In other words, the “secret budget” has no merit.
Finally, this vote, coming from a ministerial president like Weber, should make it easier for those ministers who have certain left-wing political leanings and who would like to contribute to the future government of Lula. At the same time, it will give ministers more accustomed to data, pragmatism and consequentialism, without the same political bias, the opportunity to abandon an inefficient public spending mechanism without leaning towards a future government.
* Luciano Benetti Timm is a university professor and lawyer.
