Explaining Brazil #230: A pivotal moment for Congress

The first month of the Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva administration was as eventful as they come. One week into his term, Lula faced a major institutional crisis, with hordes of far-right radicals storming government buildings and trying to stage a coup. He is also having to deal with market distrust and a grave indigenous health emergency.

But month number two will also start with a bang.

The new Congress takes office today, on February 1, and both chambers will elect their leadership for the next two years. The outcome of these two elections — especially in the Senate, where there is more room for drama — will be pivotal to the success or failure of Lula’s third term.

Listen and subscribe to our podcast from your mobile device:

Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Deezer

This episode used music from Uppbeat. License codes: KFAHGDUF2822YGTQ, FFUFJWAITV06SWVV, ZZ3WWJOPJTXDETGX

In this episode:

• Cedê Silva is a Brasília correspondent for The Brazilian Report. He has worked for O Antagonista, O Estado de S.Paulo, Veja BH, and YouTube channel MyNews.

Background reading on the Brazilian Congress:

• We covered the elections for the leadership of Congress in our newsletter service (for premium subscribers). Last week, we explained how Rogério Marinho is trying to make inroads and pull off an upset in the Senate On Monday, we broke down the state of play of the races and what is at stake. And today, the latest on the race for the top positions in Congress.
• Senator Eduardo Girão, a staunch supporter of former President Jair Bolsonaro, wants to be a standard-bearer for the far-right in the next legislature. He has no chance of winning, but he wants to keep Bolsonarism alive in the political mainstream, he told Cedê Silva.
• Three members of the lower house, elected in October of last year, were included in inquiries for their alleged participation in the January 8 Brasília riots. They take office today.
• Arthur Lira’s re-election to head the lower house of Congress is basically a done deal. What it means for the Lula government is much less clear, writes political scientist Beatriz Rey, of the State University of Rio de Janeiro.

Do you have a suggestion for our next Explaining Brazil podcast? Drop us a line at podcast@brazilian.report

Don’t forget to follow us on Twitter and Facebook.

• #congress
• #elections
• #government
• #lula