The President of the Federal Senate, Davy Alcombre (Uniao Brasil-AP), was angered by President Lula’s (PT) statement that Congress had hijacked the budget through parliamentary amendments, and filed a complaint with members of the Palacio do Planalto. The call took place in front of the rest of Congress while he was still presiding over the session.
Lula criticized the size of the parliamentary amendments during the sixth meeting of the Council, on Thursday, with businessmen and civil society representatives. “I do not agree with the imposed amendments. I think that the fact that the National Congress is hijacking 50% of the union budget is a huge historical mistake. But you will only put an end to it when you change the people who govern and who approve it,” the Workers’ Party member declared.
The speech alarmed representatives and senators from the allied base who were in the plenary session of the House of Representatives for the congressional session. One of the MPs called the Special Secretary for Parliamentary Affairs of the SRI (Secretariat for Institutional Relations), Andrei Siciliano, and passed the phone number to the President of the Senate.
According to parliamentarians, Alcolombre wondered in front of others “what a kidnapping” it would be, because he was working to approve the LDO (Law on Budget Guidelines) as the government wanted and also worked to help Correios, with a change in the financial target for state-owned companies, allowing the executive not to have to cut expenses to compensate for the greater loss that the company should record in 2026.
Parliamentary amendments constitute a cause of friction between the forces throughout Lula’s current term. STF Minister Flavio Dino even blocked the implementation of these resources, demanding more transparency, which members of Congress saw as an action by Planalto himself to weaken them.
When contacted by the report, Alcolombre and Siciliano did not comment.
Members of Congress told… Bound Lula’s speech worsens the climate in the Legislative Council and that it could be highlighted at a time when there is greater calm in the relationship, but the current situation makes things more tense.
The Colombian has been away from the Palacio do Planalto since the president chose the AGU (Prosecutor General of the Federation) minister, Jorge Messias, for the position of STF (Supreme Federal Court). The Senate President defended that the nominee should be Senator Rodrigo Pacheco (PSD-MG), one of his main allies.
He began moving directly to defeat Lula in the vote, causing the president to postpone the formalization of the person chosen to convene the session until next year. Thursday’s session was the first of its kind of major reconciliation between the government and the Senate President, with the LDO unanimously approved and negotiated with the Palacio do Planalto.
The President of the Republic informed the allies that he intends to meet with the Colombian to talk and settle the relationship. Until Messias’ appointment, the Senate president was the PT member’s main ally within Congress and served as a counterpoint to the president of the chamber, Hugo Mota (Republicanos-PB), with whom Planalto has a relationship of mistrust.