Lula’s government (PT) and the center clashed again in a vote in Congress on Thursday (27), in another chapter of the tense relationship between Palacio do Planalto and the legislative leadership. The clash reflects a scenario that may be repeated in 2026, as the opposition and central allies compete against the left for the presidency.
This Thursday, representatives and senators imposed new defeats on the government by overriding a presidential veto on new environmental licensing rules and a state aid program.
Members of Congress interviewed for the report understood the votes as a thermometer of what might happen in negotiations between the government and Congress in the coming days – primarily in relation to the little support expressed so far in the Senate for the nomination of Jorge Messias to the Federal Supreme Court.
A centrist leader says that the government today depends on Congress more than the opposite, and speaks of a “feeling of fatigue” among the legislative and executive leadership, in light of the lack of commitment to agreements, especially in paying parliamentary amendments.
In this sense, congressional leadership may make it difficult to approve matters on Planalto’s priority agenda, especially the economic agenda.
The need to establish a timeline for the government’s agenda was conveyed by Minister Gacy Hoffman (Institutional Relations) to the President of the Chamber, Hugo Motta (Republicans-PB), at dinner on Wednesday (26). In addition to the budget law, the Minister referred to proposals such as the continuing debtor proposal, the proposal to reduce tax benefits, and the PEC (Proposed Amendment to the Constitution) proposal for public security.
The preparation of the 2026 budget, which will determine the expenditures and programs to be implemented in the electoral year, the General Election Commission for Public Security and the approval of Mesias, are cited by parliamentarians as topics on which the executive could be defeated.
Moreover, next week a new session of Congress will be held to analyze another round of presidential vetoes, with the possibility of a new setback for the planalto.
As revealed BoundThe President of the Chamber has severed ties with Labor leader Lindbergh Farias (RJ), exacerbating tensions in the relationship with the government and threatening the executive’s agenda. Lula opposed the president of the Senate, Davy Alcombre, in the selection of Messias, which actually led to retaliations, such as the approval of the bomb agenda in the Senate.
On Wednesday, both Mota and Alcolombre failed to impose income tax relief, a sign of political fatigue.
Alcolombre called the Congress session on Thursday in another letter expressing dissatisfaction from the President of the Senate regarding the Planalto Palace. The crisis with the executive gave strength to parliamentarians who were already pushing for the rejection of the veto.
According to the government’s leader in Congress, Randolph Rodrigues (PT-AP), there was no agreement with the government to consider using the veto. The matter was guided, according to him, by “the imposition of a majority of the leaders of Congress, the opposition, and the center.”
At the session, Alcolombre gave a speech to defend himself from the criticism he said he received because he guided the analysis of the veto and denied that it was retaliation against the government.
He said, “Voting on this veto is not an isolated political gesture, but rather an institutional necessity.”
The Executive did not want to discuss the veto of the environmental license at this time, claiming that it would be bad for this to happen immediately after the UN Climate Change Conference (COP30) in Belém. In the vote, the opposition allied with the center to form the majority. In addition to taking a position against the vote, government members expressed their regret over the abolition of the veto.
Jalisi said this vote “contradicts the efforts made by the government in the field of environment and climate” after the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP30), describing it as “bad news.”
Minister Guilherme Boulos (General Secretariat of the Presidency of the Republic) said that abolishing the veto was a “disgrace.” “The majority of Congress decided to pass the herd,” he wrote in a post on the networks.
There is an assessment among members of the government that eliminating the veto would damage Congress’s image in public opinion. They say this reinforces the rhetoric promoted by Lula’s allies in clashes with the legislature, that parliamentarians are acting against the interests of the people, through the rhetoric of the struggle of the poor against the rich – “us against them.”
Some members of the Workers’ Party envision the possibility that friction with the legislature might make Lula’s victimhood rhetoric possible next year, when the prime minister seeks re-election.
This Thursday, for example, groups linked to the Labor Party on WhatsApp posted messages criticizing Congress. One says the vote represents a direct attack on Brazil’s future and that parliamentarians were “on the side of destruction”, while the presidential veto “protects” the country.
A Lula aide claims that civil society entities could question the STF’s sections on environmental licensing that were contested by the government and returned by the legislature. The government also does not rule out resorting to court.
“The government will continue to stand firm, especially on constitutional issues, maintained as the President has objected, if possible, until appeals to the courts,” Randolph said.
The “us versus them” campaign damaged Planalto’s relationship with the Legislature, which found itself under attack on social media and at demonstrations. Centrist cardinals believe that the government has strained the relationship and can gain positive political capital in the short term, but this may complicate the life of the executive authority in 2026 and in the elections scheduled until the end of the year.