Brazil leader submits demand for referendum

Agencies/BrasiliaBrazilian President Dilma Rousseff’s government yesterday submitted a demand to parliament to hold a referendum on political reform in response to the worst social unrest in 20 years.The move came after three weeks of protests over corruption and public spending which marred the Confederations Cup, a dress rehearsal for next year’s football World Cup, which will also be held in Brazil.The proposal for a plebiscite was delivered to senate and parliamentary president Renan Calheiros by Justice Minister Jose Eduardo Cardozo and vice president, Michel Temer, state news service Senado said.“Calheiros announced he would act so that any changes resulting from the referendum take effect from (October) 2013,” a year before presidential elections are to be held, Senado said.Cardozo said the referendum will include the reform of election campaign financing, the parliamentary voting system, rules governing coalitions and legislation on secret ballots.“The executive is merely making a simple suggestion,” Temer told reporters. “It is parliament which will oversee (the process) from the start through to the conclusion.”The protests began in Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro over hikes in public transport fares but mushroomed into demands for improvements in crumbling public services and for an end to rampant corruption.Some 1.5mn Brazilians took part in the protests at their height. Leftist leader Rousseff last week proposed a national pact with state governors to boost public services and guarantee a balanced budget.A Datafolha poll showed that 68% of Brazilians back Rousseff’s proposals. Parliament reserves the right to call a referendum and to implement any resulting political reforms. Rousseff has a majority in the legislature but some sections of that broad support are not always loyal.The poll also showed that Rousseff’s approval rating has plummeted from 57% to 30% since the start of the protests in early June. Reacting to the data, the president would only say: “It represents a picture of the moment and we have to respect it.”Rousseff also vowed not to cut social spending under any circumstances. Meanwhile the governors of Brazil’s two richest states, Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, also suffered a sharp drop in popularity, according to the Datafolha survey.In Sao Paulo, the country’s most populous and wealthiest state, Governor Geraldo Alckmin of the opposition Brazilian Social Democratic Party (PSDB) lost 14 points from 52% to 38% from June 6-7 to June 27-28. In Rio de Janeiro, Governor Sergio Cabral, of the Brazilian Democratic Movement party which is part of Rousseff’s ruling coalition, lost 30 points from 55% to 25% during the period.