The absence of Chamber President Hugo Motta and Senate President Davi Alcolumbre from the Income Tax exemption sanction event on November 26 signals an escalating crisis between Congress and Lula's government. This tension threatens key agendas like the 2026 Budget and Jorge Messias's STF nomination. Jair Bolsonaro's imprisonment takes a backseat, with mild reactions from the right.
On November 26, 2025, the presidents of the Chamber of Deputies, Hugo Motta (Republicanos-PB), and the Senate, Davi Alcolumbre (União Brasil-AP), did not attend the event at the Palácio do Planalto where President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) sanctioned the Income Tax exemption law on profit sharing and results. This absence symbolizes the worsening crisis between the Legislature and the Executive, with parliamentarians warning of risks to the approval of the 2026 Budget, the Public Security PEC, and Jorge Messias's nomination to the STF.
Alcolumbre scheduled a Congress session for November 27 to review presidential vetoes, with expectations of a defeat for Lula. Recently, he approved in the Senate a bill granting special retirement to community health agents and endemic disease fighters, with an estimated impact of R$ 25 billion in the first ten years, seen as a message of dissatisfaction to the government. The Senate president favored Rodrigo Pacheco's (PSD-MG) nomination to the STF over Messias, the Attorney-General of the Union, announced by Lula on November 20.
Messias has been visiting senators, such as Confúcio Moura (MDB-RO), Otto Alencar (PSD-BA), and Eduardo Braga (MDB-AM), arguing he should not be penalized for the fight between Alcolumbre and the government. The vote is scheduled for December 10, but the formal nomination message has not yet been sent to the Senate.
In the Chamber, Motta broke with PT leader Lindbergh Farias (RJ) after criticism of choosing Guilherme Derrite (PP-SP) as rapporteur for the anti-gangs bill. He formed a bloc with 275 deputies from eight parties, including PSD, União Brasil, and PP, to strengthen his position and aim for reelection in 2027.
Jair Bolsonaro's (PL) imprisonment, started preventively on November 22 and converted to a 27-year sentence on November 25 for a coup plot, elicited mild reactions. PL leader Sóstenes Cavalcante (RJ) downplayed it: "Perhaps it's time to work with more strategy and less radicalism." The amnesty debate stayed in the background, without centrão support.
Government allies downplay it, stating institutional relations persist, but admit mutual distrust. Critics like Tadeu Barros from CLP see approvals like that for health agents as contrary to a new pension reform.
