Federal deputy Hugo Motta (Republicanos-PB) is negotiating positions on the Board of Directors, vacancies on committees and even an appointment to the Federal Audit Court (TCU) in exchange for support for his candidacy for president of the Chamber at the beginning of the next legislature. So far, 15 parties have already embarked on the campaign in Paraíba: PL, PT, MDB, PP, Podemos, PCdoB, PV, PDT, PSB, PSDB, Cidadania, Rede, PRD, Solidariedade and his party, the Republicans.
The vacancy for the TCU is not yet open, but the president of the House himself, Arthur Lira (PP-AL), Motta’s main coordinator, confirmed that the prerogative of nomination was one of the conditions imposed by the PT to embark on the candidacy of the leader of the Republicans. Some names that are being discussed are those of deputies Gleisi Hoffmann (PR), Odair Cunha (MG) and José Guimarães (CE).
“I think it’s legal, but [ainda] doesn’t have a vacancy. If there is, the PT requested the nomination of their bench. They complain politically that they never had a representative in the TCU and, when they had candidates, they were not successful in the plenary, which is the second stage”, stated Lira in an interview with Folha de S. Paulo last week.
The leader of the PT in the Chamber, Odair Cunha (MG), also admitted that the negotiation with Motta included the nomination of a name from the party for the Court of Auditors, but said that this was not a “central element” of the party’s decision. The fundamental thing, according to the PT member, was to guarantee “governability and institutional stability” with a less fierce dispute in the House. He also said that the agreement respects the size of the Federation Brasil da Esperança group, which brings together PT, PCdoB and PV. Together they have 80 deputies.
Vacancies for the Federal Audit Court must be approved by Congress and are filled based on nominations made alternately by the Chamber, Senate and Presidency of the Republic. The agreement to make the nomination would see the Chamber endorse a PT name to replace minister Augusto Nardes, who retires in 2026, but could leave the position as early as next year.
PL should be given the vice-presidency of the Chamber
Another factor that contributed to the PT signing Hugo Motta was the choice of the first secretary of the Chamber of Deputies, which supervises the administrative activities of the House. In this case, the priority of choice by the parties is defined by the size of the benches, and the PT will have the second position at the table, after the PL which, with 92 deputies, should have the first vice-presidency of the Chamber.
The Board of Directors of the Chamber is made up of 11 members, including the president, two vice-presidents and four secretaries. Vice-presidents replace the president in case of absence, while secretaries are responsible for administrative services, international relations, licenses and housing assistance. In addition, the Board of Directors also includes four substitutes who replace the secretaries in case of absence.
The leader of the PL in the Chamber, Altineu Côrtes (RJ), also does not hide the fact that the parties, when declaring support for the candidacy of the leader of the Republicans, Hugo Motta, took into account the occupation of political spaces.
“Deputies want spaces to work politically, spaces in the Chamber, in committees, spaces they can occupy, rapporteurs to carry out political work”, said Côrtes.
It was this space that the PL claimed at the beginning of the year, when deputy Caroline de Toni (SC) assumed the presidency of the Constitution and Justice Committee (CCJ), the most important in the House, and deputy Nikolas Ferreira (MG), the Education Committee. This year, the former president’s party also controlled the Finance and Taxation, Public Security and Social Assistance Commissions. In the election for the presidency of the Chamber in 2023, the party supported Lira.
CCJ can stay with União Brasil or MDB
In 2025, the CCJ, which until now followed a system of rotation between the biggest parties, could stay with the MDB or União Brasil, depending on the articulations to convince Elmar Nascimento (União-BA) to give up his candidacy to the presidency of the Chamber to support Hugo Motta.
Last week, the União Brasil Executive left it up to Nascimento himself to decide whether or not to continue in the dispute, but there are members of the party who defend a composition. The pre-candidate himself has already admitted to talking to Motta and Antônio Brito (PSD-BA), with whom he allied himself to oppose the Republican leader’s candidacy and try to take the vote to a second round.
In a sign of what may be to come, Lira appointed Elmar Nascimento to report on the Complementary Bill for parliamentary amendments, approved in plenary on Tuesday (5). The Union also demands the rapporteurship of the 2026 Budget and the second vice-presidency of the House.
The PSD, which continues to compete for the presidency of the Chamber with leader Antônio Brito, and which so far also guarantees that its candidacy is maintained, is also courted by Motta. For him, as some parliamentarians comment behind the scenes, he would have been offered a ministry in the Lula government.
Although in the minority, parliamentarians criticize the exchange of favors for support for Motta
Although a minority in the Chamber, some parliamentarians, both on the right and on the left, are not satisfied with the negotiations and bargains that have been used by parties in exchange for political support for Hugo Motta’s candidacy for president of the Chamber of Deputies. One of them is the president of the Education Commission, Nikolas Ferreira (PL-MG), who, from the stand, criticized the agreements.
The deputy said that instead of composition agreements with other parties, the right should focus on rescuing the values and combative disposition that mobilize its base. In an interview with the column Between the linesfrom Gazeta do Povo, Nikolas reaffirmed his dissatisfaction with the endorsement of his party, the PL, for the Republican leader’s candidacy.
According to him, “you can’t ignore the electorate” who feels betrayed by this union. For him, the agreement distorts the identity of the right and ignores the feelings of voters who trusted their votes in representatives with a more combative stance.
In the PT wing there are also dissatisfied with the support for Motta. Some parliamentarians did not even participate in the meetings to discuss the endorsement of Hugo Motta’s candidacy, but as the party command decided, many preferred not to publicly criticize the agreement.
Command of committees and positions on the Board are synonymous with power
Negotiation of positions on the Board of Directors and permanent committees of the Chamber occurs whenever there is a change of presidency. Parliamentarians who arrive in these spaces guarantee more power and prominence and, in some cases, benefits such as larger rooms and more advisors, in addition to control over technical aspects, such as the management of contracts, and funds, such as civil servants’ remuneration and others intended for the exercise of parliamentary mandate.
“The distribution of positions is not just for reasons of distribution of resources or more effective political control. Sometimes it is enough to guarantee a better room, better functional attention, the greatest number of positions he can [deputado] may indicate a greater budget in this sense of representation. This is enough to accommodate some interested parties”, explains political analyst Adriano Cerqueira, professor at Faculdade Ibmec in Belo Horizonte.
The choice of the most important positions takes into account the importance of the bench and political support among parliamentarians, says Cerqueira. “That’s why, when a candidate becomes a favorite to win, the ideological question is left aside. PT and PL, which are today the antagonistic ideological poles in Brazil, are supporting Hugo Mota (REP-PB) because they don’t want to stay outside the distribution of these resources”, he concludes.
For scientist Antônio Testa, the practice of making agreements in Congress is not new. “Political bargaining may be reprehensible to some analysts, but pragmatists understand it as necessary. It is in the nature of our parliamentary process: dividing, composing and managing the conflict”, he points out.
The election of the new presidents of the Chamber of Deputies and the Federal Senate takes place in February 2025. The new leaders of the National Congress are elected by secret vote of parliamentarians for a two-year term.
