The era of balance between the Three Powers begins.

The first act of Arthur Lira (PP/AL), elected yesterday in the first round as president of the Chamber with 302 votes, was to annul a decision by Rodrigo Maia (DEM/RJ), the former president, who, in the waning days of the power he enjoyed for four years, sought to place the bloc of his candidate, Baleia Rossi (MDB/SP), on the future board of directors.

Rossi already had a predetermined mission in case of victory: to kick President Jair Bolsonaro out by accepting one of the bogus impeachment requests that are popping up in the Chamber of Deputies. The only unknown outcome of an accepted impeachment request is that Bolsonaro survived even a brutal attack that could have minced his intestines.

Lira annulled the vote for the remaining positions on the board of directors because the registration was done after the deadline, but it was still accepted by Maia, who had already anticipated a defeat for his candidate, since even Maia's own party, the DEM, was supporting Lira. Regarding Maia, Lira said that "history will judge" the alligator's legacy.

Maia cried crocodile tears at his farewell. The former president spent four years sabotaging Jair Bolsonaro and enjoying the princely perks of the presidency of the Chamber of Deputies. He leaves isolated, even by his own party, the DEM. ACM Neto, the national president of the DEM, who sees things from afar, has already realized that he cannot count on the chubby Chilean-Brazilian congressman.

Lira stated that he will urgently seek out the also newly elected president of the Senate, Rodrigo Pacheco (DEM/MG), to coordinate an emergency agenda, since both in the Chamber and in the Senate, under former president Davi Alcolumbre (DEM/AP), voting was stalled, including impeachment requests against ministers of the Supreme Federal Court (STF). During these two years, Alcolumbre gave hints that the Supreme Court instilled panic in him.

Alcolumbre, with his boyish demeanor, showed relief at leaving the presidency of the House and handing it over to his candidate, Rodrigo Pacheco, to now take care of his political stronghold in Amapá, where his family is one of the most powerful.

Free from the interference of the Supreme Court, which had Alcolumbre's support, and from the threat that one of the bogus impeachment requests in the Chamber would be accepted by Maia and succeed, President Jair Bolsonaro, who, without stealing and without letting others steal, has been putting Brazil on the runway, ready to take off, will finally be able to govern, together with the National Congress, without extra anxiety.

But like a scalded cat fearing cold water, his personal security and intelligence sectors are on high alert to anticipate attempts to eliminate him, which will continue. To be clear: these attempts to eliminate him are political, stemming from his most rabid opposition, because among hyenas and vultures, all that matters is meat, and with the prey alive, even better.

Thus, this will be a year of intense work in Congress, especially regarding tax and administrative reforms.

Legalization of gambling in Brazil

Another issue that could be resolved is the legalization of gambling in Brazil. Rodrigo Maia shelved this agenda throughout his entire term. The board of the Brazilian Legal Gambling Institute (IJL) met with Arthur Lira and Rodrigo Pacheco and found that both want the legalization of gambling. Arthur Lira is the son of former Senator Benedito de Lira, who was the favorable rapporteur for PLS 186/14, which deals with the legalization of gambling, in the Senate's Constitution, Justice and Citizenship Committee.

After 74 years in the shadows, Brazil is one of the countries with the most illegal gambling in the world, generating around 5 billion dollars a year, without oversight and without paying a single cent in taxes, nor generating formal employment, while the State does nothing, in the name of moralism. The illegal lottery known as "jogo do bicho" alone generates 10 billion reais a year.

A study by IJL/BNLData indicates that the gaming market in Brazil has the potential to generate $15 billion in revenue annually, leaving $4,2 billion for the public treasury, in addition to $1,7 billion in grants, licenses, and authorizations. This does not include investments and job creation in the implementation of betting establishments. It would also generate more than 658 direct jobs and 619 indirect jobs.

Gambling is practiced in many countries, such as the United States, Canada, England, Germany, France, Belgium, Spain, Italy, Switzerland, Greece, Portugal, Austria, the Netherlands, Monaco, Uruguay, etc. The Macau Special Administrative Region in China is currently the world's leading gambling center, surpassing Las Vegas in the United States as the world's casino capital and generating $38 billion a year with just 35 casinos.

Las Vegas' more than 100 casinos generate $8 billion in revenue annually, and one of its largest chains alone employs 50 people.

When gambling was banned in Brazil in 1946, there were 70 casinos scattered throughout the country employing over 40 workers, including artists such as Carmen Miranda and Orlando Silva.

In 1946, Dona Santinha, Carmela Leite Dutra, wife of President Eurico Gaspar Dutra, was a devout woman and exerted a strong influence over her husband. For her, gambling was the work of the devil. Dutra yielded and, in an instant, destroyed one of the industries that most contributed to the country's prosperity, throwing tens of thousands of family men into unemployment.

According to Magno José Santos de Sousa, president of the Brazilian Legal Gaming Institute, professor of the postgraduate course in Business Communication at Candido Mendes University (Ucam/RJ), editor of BNLData , and journalist specializing in lotteries and betting, Brazil is subject to one of the most outdated legislations in the world for the sector. "But the clandestine nature of the activity doesn't negate the practice," he warns.

It's clear that many people see the devil everywhere, when in reality he is inside each of us and only comes out when summoned.

(*) Ray Cunha is a journalist and writer in Brasília and published the above article on his Blog and in Diário Carioca.