Brazil’s President Michel Temer secured his most important congressional victory to date as the lower house overwhelmingly supported a constitutional amendment that will cap growth in public spending as part of the government’s efforts to tackle a near-record budget deficit.
Lawmakers approved the controversial proposal with 366 votes in favor, while 111 voted against. The government needed a minimum of 308 votes, equivalent to three-fifths of the entire lower house, to support the bill in the first of two rounds of voting. The amendment proposes freezing public spending in real terms, with increases limited to the previous year’s rate of inflation, for at least the next 10 years.
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