New leaders elected to Brazil’s Congress promise independence from Lula

2/2/2025 12:06

Brazil's House and Senate elected new leaders on Saturday who promised independence from the administration of President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva during their two-year terms, which will be the final stretch of Lula's presidency.



While expected, the election of representative Hugo Motta, for speaker of the House, and Davi Alcolumbre, to head the Senate, is likely to pose challenges for Brazil's leftist leader amid declining approval ratings.



Both men have gained support from conservatives and liberals alike partly by promising to fight for Congress to determine the destination of an ever-bigger share of Brazil's federal budget, which may be spent regardless of the Lula administration's priorities.



Members of Congress now control nearly a quarter of the funds available for the federal government's investments and policy enactments, a proportion that has notably increased over the past decade.



The rules that regulate how lawmakers spend those earmarked funds are now under intense scrutiny at the Supreme Court, a source of great tension between the justices and Congress.