Bolsonaro kicks civil servant controversy down the road

Since President Jair Bolsonaro stepped into office in January 2019, he has faced virtually no opposition from the left. The Workers’ Party remains in tatters — even though former President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva polls higher than anyone ahead of the 2022 elections, his party has failed to act as a guardrail against the far-right administration. Instead, most if not all crises faced by Mr. Bolsonaro were of his own making. And the 2022 budget has been the latest iteration of his tendency to shoot himself in the foot.

The ratified budget law sets aside BRL 1.7 billion (USD 310 million) to increase the salaries of government workers. Mr. Bolsonaro wants this money to go to security agents, which his opponents see as part of an effort to instrumentalize police forces ahead of what is set to...