Beaches PEC generates commotion in the Federal Senate

The so-called PEC das Praias, which aims to change the collection of taxes paid to the Brazilian Navy on coastal land, reached the Federal Senate after being approved by the Chamber of Deputies in 2022 in two rounds.

The proposal is vehemently defended by right-wing parties and some left-wing deputies who make up the PCdoB, PT and PSB parties.

_{Demonstration against the PEC das Praias in the Senate (Photo: reproduction/Waldemir Barreto/Agência Senado)}

Privatization of beaches

The text, presented in 2011 by deputies Arnaldo Jordy (PPS-BA), José Chaves (PTB-PE) and Zoinho (PR-RJ), which provided for an update in the collection of the fee paid by owners of land by the sea.

When passing through the Chamber's Committee on the Constitution of Justice and Citizenship (CCJ) in 2015, the text received a favorable opinion from rapporteur Alceu Moreira, and was approved by the Chamber in the same year, but only reached debate in the Senate this year.

With the debate on the privatization of beaches, opposition leader Flávio Bolsonaro saw the need to make a change to the text, making it clear that access to beaches will continue to be permitted to the general public.

_{Senator Flávio Bolsonaro presiding over debate at the CCJ (Photo: reproduction/Waldemir Barreto/Agência Senado)}

Text vote

In 2022, when first voted on in the Chamber, the text was approved by 377 votes in favor against 93 against and one abstention. When voted on the same day in the second round, the text received 91 votes against, and passed with 389 votes in favor.

What surprised the political community was not the unanimous vote of right-wing parties in favor of the PEC, but the fact that some left-wing politicians voted against their leaders' guidance. This was the case of Helder Salomão, Merlong Solano and Odair Cunha, from the Workers' Party.

Now, the text is still being debated in the Federal Senate and when it goes to vote, it will need three-fifths of the senators' favorable votes, which means that 49 of the 81 senators need to say “yes” to the PEC.

Featured photo: Copacabana beach, on the edge of Rio de Janeiro (Reproduction/Rafael Catarcione/RioTur)