A group of lawmakers from the center-left Workers’ Party exhibited some odd behavior in two crucial votes last week. First, Senator Rogerio Carvalho voted in favor of a resolution to keep records of opaque budgetary grants a secret, and then a majority of Workers’ Party senators sided with the Bolsonaro government on a budget-related bill. The next day, Workers’ Party chair Gleisi Hoffmann cut a bemused figure on CNN. “I didn’t understand a thing,” she said.
And Ms. Hoffmann is not alone. Several political pundits noted the peculiarity of the votes, which benefited the Jair Bolsonaro administration and...