The fourth day of discussion of the State Budget proposal in plenary began with an incident involving Augusto Santos Silva. The President of the Assembly of the Republic decided to raise his voice and repeat three times to the agents of the Public Security Police to open the galleries to the public. Santos Silva’s office devalues him and says that he was a “technical difficulty of communication without any other meaning”.
“I determine that the agents of the authority open the galleries to the public. There is a civil servant in front of me who you are not following my order???????? This order must be carried out immediately”, said Augusto Santos Silva in a more irritated tone.
The request to open the chamber galleries to the public is a formal precept that marks the beginning of all plenary sessions and is decreed by the President of the Assembly of the Republic.
On a day of a police demonstration —which ends in front of the São Bento Palace—, Augusto Santos Silva’s office downplays the situation and explains that what happened was a communication failure.
In a note sent to the Observer it is explained that “when opening the doors it was verified that there was still no one from the public wanting to enter” and that “therefore, the agents did not feel the need to keep the doors open”, which led Santos Silva to reiterate the request.
The office of the President of the Assembly of the Republic thus concludes that the incident “was a technical communication difficulty, which was promptly overcome, no other meaning“, despite the visible irritation of Augusto Santos Silva and the admiration of the members of the Government and the deputies who exchanged glances and looked at the galleries of the chamber.
After the incident, there was no public to attend the session, but the galleries are also a work space for television image reporters, who can only enter after the opening of the doors decreed by the president of Parliament.
Source: Observadora
