Barroso defends mixed district vote to alleviate the crisis of representativeness

The president of the Supreme Federal Court (STF), Luiz Roberto Barroso, defended on Monday (17) the adoption of the mixed district vote in proportional elections. According to him, this model would allow the voter to know exactly who represents it and would help reduce the distance between politics and society.

“I find an ideal model because it allows the voter to know effectively who represents it. This can decrease the distancing that occurred between politics and civil society, ”Barroso said during a visit to schools in Campinas (SP).

The statement of the minister occurs after the House of Representatives announced the creation of a special committee to discuss the bill (PL) 9.212/2017, authored by former Senator José Serra (PSDB-SP), which proposes the change in the system electoral. The proposal has already been approved in the Senate and is awaiting processing in the House of Representatives.

Currently, Brazil adopts a proportional system for the election of deputies, in which the votes are distributed among the parties and coalitions. In the mixed district model, half of the parliamentarians would be elected by the current system and the other half in direct disputes in delimited districts, with victory of the most voted candidate.

Barroso recalled that this position has already been defended by the Superior Electoral Court (TSE) during the management of Minister Rosa Weber, when he was also part of the electoral court.

Asked about the Proposal of Amendment to the Constitution (PEC) establishing semi -presentialism, filed in the House, Barroso said he has defended the idea in 2006, but considers the electoral reform more urgent. “This is a political issue that will depend on the debate in Congress. What I consider most important now is the change in the electoral system, ”he said.

The proposal of a new model of government is also defended by the decanor minister of the Court, Gilmar Mendes, who points out distortions in the budget control by Congress as one of the factors that justify the debate.