Flávio Bolsonaro, the PL party's presidential candidate, told a rally in Joinville, in the southern state of Santa Catarina, on Saturday (19) that he would revoke more than 1,000 normative acts on the first day of an eventual government. He called the move a "tesouraço", a sweeping scissor cut of rules, and framed it as relief for those who want to do business in Brazil.
"I will cut the tax burden on payrolls, because the salary has to stay with the worker and less with the government. On the 1st day of government, I will deliver a 'tesouraço': more than 1,000 normative acts revoked in a single stroke of the pen, to help those who want to start a business in this country," Flávio said, in a speech reported by Poder360.
According to Poder360, he spoke alongside Santa Catarina Governor Jorginho Mello (PL), who is running for reelection, lieutenant governor candidate Adriano Silva (Novo) and Senate candidates Carol De Toni and Carlos Bolsonaro (PL). Flávio also promised to move environmental licensing policy into the presidency. "We will respect the law, we will preserve the environment, but we will turn the riches God gave our nation into wealth for our people," he said.
Campaign cites the "Milei model"
The pledge builds on work already done by the campaign's economic team. Its coordinator, Daniella Marques, praised the model of Argentine President Javier Milei at an event held by the business group Esfera on Monday (14). "Milei is a great example in terms of regaining investment capacity and reducing bureaucracy and taxes," she said, according to Broadcast, the real-time news service of Grupo Estado, publisher of the newspaper O Estado de S. Paulo.
Broadcast reported that Flávio instructed the team to map taxes created or raised under President Lula's administration, and more than a thousand rules have reportedly been identified. Marques also said it "may not be necessary" to change the rule that guarantees real increases in the minimum wage right away, a costly but popular policy.
Analysts see legal limits
Economists heard by Broadcast say Milei's chainsaw-style austerity does not transfer to Brazil. "It seems to me to be a case of double standards. The Argentine economy is not comparable to the Brazilian economy," said César Bergo, a professor at the University of Brasília. Marcus Pestana, head of the Independent Fiscal Institution (IFI), a budget watchdog attached to the Senate, said radical cuts would collide with the courts and Congress: "a large part of the provisions that have an impact on Brazil's public budget are in our Constitution... a large part of the cuts Milei made there would be blocked here by the judiciary."
Cristina Helena Pinto de Mello, an economist at PUC-SP, a São Paulo university, said broad spending cuts would hit those who depend on public services. "In a country as unequal as this one, the state cannot be treated as just an expense to be eliminated," she said. Former Argentine President Alberto Fernández, an ally of Lula, told Broadcast that his country's experience "should not be a model for anywhere in the world."
The first round of Brazil's presidential election is scheduled for October 4. Flávio Bolsonaro, son of former president Jair Bolsonaro, faces President Lula of the Workers' Party (PT), who is seeking reelection, and four other candidates.