The betting companies’ lobbying in Congress was strong and prevented the approval of the measure. Haddad described the behavior of these companies as “disastrous” and said the government has mechanisms to act if the standoff continues.
The finance minister compared the harm caused by betting to that of cigarettes and alcohol, stating that the goal is not to demonize the industry, but to make those who profit from it contribute fairly.
“Some things are difficult to ban, although in the case of betting we now have the technology to, if this arm-wrestling continues, move toward a tougher confrontation with the sector, which had a disastrous performance in the debates at the Chamber. Since they depend on social networks, we have ways to act,” Haddad said.
The minister added that, starting tomorrow, he will speak with President Lula and congressional leaders to outline alternatives to the measure that would have generated nearly R$ 20 billion (US$3.6bn) in revenue for the public coffers next year alone.
The government also requested a postponement of the 2026 budget vote, which was scheduled for today in the joint committee. Depending on the discussions with Lula, the government may alter the budget proposal in light of the revenue shortfall.
Senator Efraim Filho, president of the Joint Budget Committee (CMO), criticized the move. He said the deadline is getting tight and that the government keeps insisting on raising taxes instead of cutting expenses.
“If the government faced frustration with the provisional measure, it must understand that it was due to the vote — it wasn’t imposed by anyone. It was the will of Congress, representing society, to send a clear message,” he stated.
“We can no longer endure this agenda of raising rates and taxes just to collect, collect, and collect. Fiscal balance must also come from the spending side. Minister Fernando Haddad deals every day with a revenue agenda, but the spending-cut agenda seems to have been forgotten, pushed to the background,” he added.
Haddad, however, expressed optimism and said he had been approached by lawmakers seeking to fix what happened. He reminded that voting against a measure just to take a stand has practical consequences.
One of those consequences is the dismissal of Centrão-appointed officials from public positions. The government dismissed another group on Tuesday (14), focusing on those appointed by lawmakers who voted against the provisional measure.
Source: GMB
