The president () reached the halfway point of his term completing 28% of the 103 promises made in and cataloged by Sheet.
Furthermore, 29% are in progress, 25% are already started but are moving at a slow pace, and 17% are stopped (the percentages add up to 99% due to the rounding of indices).
With this total, the president was able to fulfill a commitment every 26 days in office, a slower pace than , to complete all items in four years of administration. In 2023, the speed was one every 19 days.
Lula’s promises were listed by Sheet from that of the PT member, from , from and from interviews given to the press during the election.
Lula launched on these platforms and in statements at least in areas such as economy, agriculture, education, health and public security, in addition to political issues, such as . The current status of the promises was obtained through information from the government’s own bodies.
In absolute terms, there are 29 commitments considered completed, 30 in progress, 26 with slow execution and 18 stopped. is the area with the most proposals already implemented (12), followed by , political themes, and security, each with two conclusions.
The social theme is the one that leads in ongoing proposals, with six, followed by economy and infrastructure, with five each. Among the themes with the most promises stopped are security, with four, political themes and economy, with three, and health, both with two.
The PT government’s slowest topics are economics, with five each, and security, with four propositions.
Wanted by Sheetthe federal government stated through Secom (Secretariat of Social Communication of the Presidency) that it has focused, since the beginning of the administration, on the supervision and recovery of public and social policies to address the country’s critical areas.
He reiterated that the administration’s approach aims to “establish solid foundations for future development, with a clear commitment to improving people’s living conditions in a broad and sustainable way.”
“The government seeks to integrate several actions, articulating different policy areas to ensure that their impacts are lasting and have direct effects on the lives of Brazilians, especially on the most vulnerable populations”, stated Palácio do Planalto.
This year, some of the promises registered as slow execution in 2023 ended up returning to stopped status. This is the case of the reversal of the privatization of , included in the PT government plan.
Last year, Planalto tried to increase federal control over the company, without success. In the absence of effective mechanisms to make the company public again without straining the Legislature, the matter was left aside.
Something similar occurred in the reconstruction and strengthening of Suas (Single Social Assistance System), a promise that was classified as ongoing in 2023, but is now moving at a slow pace.
The federal government invested R$3.4 billion in the system in 2024, but there were no announcements that better structured the operation and dynamics of the program, something that was promised in 2023 by the Minister of Social Development, Wellington Dias (PT).
Other big promises have not yet taken off, such as removing the country from the hunger map, the resumption of , one and zero net deforestation in the country. The proposal for an exemption for those who receive up to R$5,000 was forwarded at the end of 2024, but may face obstacles in Congress.
On the other hand, promises such as increased investment in Bolsa Atleta, a scholarship for those who complete high school — implemented in the Pé-de-Meia program —, the renegotiation of family debts through and the establishment of regulatory food stocks were completed in the last year.
Luciana Santana, political scientist and professor at Ufal (Federal University of ), states that internal government problems, such as the difficulty in political articulation and at the top, and the crisis between the Powers, harm the Executive’s agenda.
She assesses that other contexts, such as disasters or atypical events, make it difficult to fulfill promises and cites restrictions on inaugurations or starting new projects in an election year as another obstacle to advancing the commitments made in the campaign.
“The profile of the government and the context in which it was elected have already shown what the four years of government will be like, always walking on eggshells, putting out fires, trying to improve communication. Communication was very flawed, so the government has several issues to follow up on in this year,” he said.
For Santana, 2025 could make it easier for the government to deal with other Powers, especially as it is a cycle without any scheduled elections. But he says that Lula needs to have alternatives to make the government viable in the event of more crises.
“The chances of political ambition end up increasing if the agenda takes off. If, however, there is conflict between the Powers, the president himself needs to think of alternatives.”
Josué Medeiros, political scientist and professor at UFRJ (Federal University of Rio de Janeiro) and UFRRJ (Federal Rural University of Rio de Janeiro), cites polarization as a factor that hinders governability and the completion of goals established by the PT member.
He argues that the government was able to complete more promises in 2023 due to the reconstruction of public policies dismantled by the former president (), but that the government is now finding it difficult to build a brand.
Medeiros believes that Planalto should make more comparisons between Lula and Bolsonaro due to the legal situation the former president is experiencing. For him, however, social dissatisfaction and the crisis between Powers will continue to be important challenges, and the Executive needs to think of another way of communicating.
“The Nest Egg, for example, is a very large public policy that has not yet been explored by the government. It affects the economy and the lives of an entire generation of young people, but without a narrative that structures the policy as a brand, nothing it will work”, says the political scientist.
