As the relationship with Palacio do Planalto deteriorates, Congress is trying to open a new front of attrition for President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. After overturning important objections to issues such as environmental licensing and state debt, opposition leaders and centrist parties began to express, in various committees, the appeal of issues in which the executive authority finds it difficult to assert its will. The focus is now on two issues that threaten the government with new defeats: domestic politics and the public security agenda.
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On the immediate radar are the proposed amendment to the Constitution (PEC) that seeks to set a time frame to prevent the demarcation of new boundaries, projects that aim to repeal recent decrees that granted rights to land to indigenous people, as well as votes on the PEC Public Security and Anti-Factionalism Project. The latter two initiatives have been proposed by the government, but they may undergo profound changes.
The PEC of Senator Dr. Herran (PP-RR), which identifies October 5, 1988 as a milestone for the occupation of indigenous lands, has become the main bet for the rural seat in the Senate. The proposal amends Article 231 of the Constitution, and has gained momentum after the government intensified border demarcation in recent months, including announcing new laws during the COP30.
Senator Esperidío Amin (PP-SC) presented a positive opinion in the Committee on the Constitution and Justice (CCJ), and party leaders began to address the issue as a priority in the coming weeks. This move comes on the eve of the Federal Supreme Court resuming, virtually, the analysis of the proceedings during the time frame between 5 and 15 December, according to the report of Minister Gilmar Méndez.
Although the STF has already deemed this thesis unconstitutional, parliamentarians are seeking to re-establish it through a constitutional amendment, in a strategy to obstruct other powers and reverse recent decisions.
In addition to the PEC, representatives and senators are voting on so-called “draft legislative decrees” to repeal decrees issued by the Ministry of Indigenous Peoples and Funai that deal with border demarcation.
The proposals target acts that the court considers to be broad in scope and to have no legal basis. It is expected that these texts will be presented to the plenary later this year, depending on the results of the discussion in the special working group and the progress made in internal negotiations.
In the security field, the government is working to reduce damage in both chambers. The president of the chamber, Hugo Mota (Republicanos-PB), announced on Friday that the rapporteur of the PEC, Mendonça Filho (Uniao-PE), will present the main points of the text at the leaders’ meeting on Tuesday. According to him, it is expected that the report will be voted on by the special committee on Thursday.
Mendonça announced last month that the proposal should leave the chamber “stronger and bolder” than the Justice Department’s version. Last week, one of the most controversial points discussed was the inclusion of a device to prevent the regime from progressing to “super crimes,” such as crimes against life, rape, then murder, and belonging to factions, in addition to the possibility of imposing life imprisonment.
“Public safety is our priority,” Motta wrote on his X profile.
The public signal was issued two days after Motta met with Corporate Relations Minister Glessy Huffman. During the meeting, the head of the political coordination in the government called for giving priority to the Presidential Elections Commission, in light of a crisis between the executive and legislative authorities.
In the Senate, parliamentarians are preparing to vote on the anti-factionalism project, announced by the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Davi Alcolombre (Uniao-AP), after the session that overturned the presidential veto.
On Friday, the Ministry of Justice sent to the Rapporteur, Senator Alessandro Vieira (MDB-SE), a document containing ten points that it considers “fundamental problems” in the version approved by the Chamber.
The report, which is 35 pages long, is a response to a letter sent by Vieira to the ministry requesting “the sending of technical assistance to improve the text under analysis.” Among the basic elements, the main problems, from the government’s point of view, relate to the reduction of resources available to the Federal Police (PF) and the overlapping of laws.
Vieira has already said that he will conduct a complete review of the project, with amendments to the legislative and constitutional technicality and changes to the merits. The senator stated that he intends to carefully evaluate the section that addresses police funding, as well as amend provisions that expand the types of criminality already established in the legal system.
When contacted on Friday, the parliamentarian said that the issue was under analysis and he did not explain in detail the points requested by the government that could be met. Planalto’s fear is that if the Senate does not encourage major changes, the executive will have to deal with a project it sees as unbalanced and vulnerable to legal challenges.
The legislative offensive is occurring in an environment of increasing distance between Congress and the executive branch, which also contaminates other fronts of government interests. The Senate President indicated that he wants to vote on the 2026 budget later this year, before the recess, but avoided giving details about the next steps in the appointment of Jorge Mesías to the Supreme Federal Court (STF). Disturbed by President Lula’s choice, Alcombre explains that he rejected the name of the Attorney General of the Federation.
This week, Congress dropped most of Lula’s objections to the environmental licensing framework, despite appeals from the government, environmental activists and the approaching UN Climate Change Conference (COP30).
Despite his desire to move forward with the border demarcation process, Dr. Hiran stresses that there is a need for dialogue.
-The temperature has risen, hasn’t it? Everything is possible. It is difficult to guess what will happen, because every day things present themselves in a different way. “We are trying to work on solving these problems,” he said.
For the opposition, the crisis represents an opportunity to advance the group’s current main slogan, which is to pardon former President Jair Bolsonaro, who was arrested on charges of an attempted coup.
– When Duffy (the Colomber) put forward his candidacy and spoke with the parties that supported him, it was agreed that no topic would be off limits. The leader of the Liberal Party in the Senate, Carlos Porteño (RJ), said that if the pardon reaches the Senate, he will be charged.