Good morning! The election for Senate president provided moments of tension.
Government candidate wins turbulent Senate President election
This weekend, attention in Brazil was drawn squarely on the Senate, with one of the messiest and most controversial sessions in recent memory ending up in a victory for the Jair Bolsonaro government. Davi Alcolumbre, the 41-year-old Senator from the right-wing Democratas party, came out triumphant in the crucial election for Senate President—one of the most powerful positions in Brazilian politics.
With the power to control what goes on the Senate docket and when, the office was seen as a priority to the government, which is hell-bent on approving a number of large-scale reforms in Congress over the next two years.
Mr. Alcolumbre’s win, backed by Chief of Staff Onyx Lorenzoni, spelled defeat for previous favorite Renan Calheiros and the Brazilian Democratic Movement (MDB) party, the largest bench in the chamber. While the election was an undoubted success for the government, who claimed it would not interfere in the dispute, it has also pushed some very powerful figures to the opposition, not least Mr. Calheiros himself.
Furthermore, Mr. Alcolumbre’s victory was the result of an epic push in corridor negotiations...