On the eve of the electoral year, the Lula (PT) government took advantage of the second half of 2025 to accelerate progress and broaden the dissemination of popular actions, including the campaign promises of the PT member still in the running for 2022.
The last months of this third year in office were used to accelerate deliveries that mainly targeted low-income audiences, in addition to preparing the ground for proposals that have not yet been approved, but which should set the tone for his re-election campaign next year.
The Palácio do Planalto accelerated the announcement of the increase in the exemption from IR (income tax) for those who earn up to R$ 5,000 and prepared a mobilization to try to move forward with proposals aimed at reducing the 6×1 scale, expanding real estate credit and resuming measures aimed at application workers, subjects that should be present in the 2026 debates.
More recently, the government changed the process for issuing the CNH (National Driving License), removing the requirement to enroll in driving school courses and introducing automatic renewal for drivers without violations.
Management’s stated goal was to reduce costs, targeting specific audiences such as delivery and app drivers who needed licensing and faced barriers related to the high cost of courses, exams, tests and documentation.
The agenda was managed mainly by the General Secretariat of the Presidency, the service responsible for bridging the gap with social movements, led since the end of October by Guilherme Boulos (PSOL).
One of the agendas that gained weight within the government with the arrival of the new minister was the end of the 6×1 system, which provides for six days of work and one day of rest. To unblock the proposal, which was being developed in several projects in Congress, Boulos addressed the Chamber of Deputies to defend the issue.
Lula also led actions in favor of popular housing, launching Reforma Casa Brasil, a house renovation program, and announcing real estate credit actions focused on the middle class.
Most of these announcements were accompanied by advertising articles in the media and events at the Palácio do Planalto with a strong popular character, intensifying the presence of representatives of civil society and social movements at the ceremonies.
At the same time, the Lula government also changed its slogan, from “Union and reconstruction” to “Government in Brazil: alongside the Brazilian people”, to mark the new moment of his mandate.
Isabel Mota, electoral lawyer, says that the concentration of actions before the entry into force of the electoral calendar is a strategy used to circumvent behaviors prohibited by electoral law in order to prevent the exploitation of the public machine by government officials.
“The objective (of the law) is to try to ensure a balance of conduct which tends to affect equality and opportunity between candidates in elections,” he says. “It’s a very broad range of behaviors, with the goal of trying to create a balance between the candidate who is in power and the one who is not.”
The lawyer also argues that, in some cases, large resource contributions and massive election-related advertisements can end up being seen as forms of abuse of power, even before the election period.
Contacted, Secom (Communication Secretariat of the Presidency) declared that there was no connection between the actions and the electoral calendar. Planalto said the deliveries in question are part of an ongoing effort, based on planning, not specific initiatives focused on a certain time of year.
“The launch of public policies involves a time of technical maturation, institutional dialogue and collective construction with the National Congress, states, municipalities and civil society. An example is the project that resulted in the expansion of the range of exemption from personal income tax, mentioned in the report. Although the sanction took place in November, the proposal was transmitted to Congress in March. The same goes for the other measures”, indicates a note sent to Leaf.
Boulos’ performance
Lula’s relations with social movements during the second half of the year were marked by a change within the General Secretariat, with the exchange of Márcio Macêdo for Guilherme Boulos, following a clear request from the president to put the “government in the streets”.
The expression gave its name to the program that should be the main standard of the Pre-Electoral General Secretariat, which aims to bring federal services to the cities, with joint efforts to support programs such as Reforma Casa Brasil, Gás do Povo, Pé-de-Meia and the National Registry of Domestic Animals, among others.
During a coffee with journalists in December, Boulos said there is a fear within management that the program’s deliveries are being confused with an irregular election campaign.
“Although it is a question of social service, there may be some kind of question regarding electoral legislation. Therefore, our goal in 2026 is to have the ‘Government of Brazil on the streets’ by June, unless there is an opinion from the control bodies, which allows us to move forward,” Boulos said.
Still continuing the intensification of the idea of popular participation, the government will also launch in January 2026 a popular budget program, called Participatory Brazil, an online system in which citizens will be able to choose the areas in which they want to invest from the Union.
According to the minister, the popular draft budget will be tested in the first months of 2026 and should not be subject to the restrictions of electoral rules.
The actions of these last months of the penultimate year of Lula 3 contrast with a first half marked by successive crises in the public image of the government, which determined fluctuations in the evaluation of the president.
Between January and June, the government faced scandals that required a response to reverse the negative effects. In January, a government order relating to the control of transactions through Pix was the target of fake news regarding taxation of the free payment system.
Then, the misuse of INSS (National Social Security Institute) retiree and retiree benefits was exposed, leading to the dismissal of Carlos Lupi, then Minister of Social Security, and the then INSS President, Alessandro Stefanutto.
Subsequently, the government was faced with the IOF (Financial Operations Tax) crisis, after the publication of the decree that increased the tax on certain credit operations, which irritated the business community, leading to exchanges with Congress and withdrawals from the PT administration.
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