President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s third non-consecutive term had a patchy record of wins and losses in Congress last year.
Among the wins, the government approved a sweeping tax reform, a new fiscal framework, taxes on investment funds used by the super-rich, and regulations on sports betting. These were essential moves, only made possible by a heavy dose of pork barreling.
Still, as The Brazilian Report has shown, the proportion of approved bills sponsored by the president dropped, and more provisional decrees failed to be confirmed by Congress than in any year since 1995.
A rocky relationship between the Executive and Legislative branches is not shocking. Despite electing a center-left president in 2022, Brazilians also picked a very conservative Congress — giving the far-right Liberal Party the biggest bench in the House (96 of 513 seats) among all 20 parties represented in Congress. The party federation headed by Lula’s Workers’ Party, in contrast, won 81 seats.
The consequences of the 2022 electoral results will be felt throughout Lula’s term, as bench size is the criterion used to distribute control of Congress’s standing committees. The Liberal Party’s enormous bench has already granted it control over at least five committees in the House.
Most bills or constitutional amendment proposals in Brazil must pass through one or more standing committees before approval. In some cases, the committees have the final say and may enact laws without the need for floor votes.
The Liberal Party used its discretion to choose radical pro-Bolsonaro rank-and-file members to occupy key positions for the lawmaking process — as chairs of the Constitution and Justice, Education, Welfare and Family, and Public Security committees.
Brazil’s far-right championed scientific denialism during the pandemic and backs looser gun control policies and a ban on same-sex marriage. Its proponents have also been in constant spats with...
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