Following the same action adopted after the June defeat in , the president and the left went on the attack after the Chamber of Deputies was blocked this Wednesday (8).
With , the government’s social networks being flooded this Thursday (9) with the slogans “Congress, enemy of the people” and “BBB taxation”, in reference to banks, bets and billionaires, in an attempt to stamp the center and the opposition as defenders of millionaires and privileges to the detriment of the low-income population.
The opposition also reacted in a campaign tone, saying that Brazil cannot handle any more taxes. According to this speech, the government turns a blind eye to spending cuts and seeks to fill the coffers in an election year by taking money out of the population’s pockets.
Lula said on his social networks on Wednesday, shortly after the result in the Chamber, that the parliamentarians were playing against Brazil. This Thursday morning (9), in an interview with Rádio Piatã FM, from Bahia, he returned to the charge.
“I’m sad, very sad, because yesterday the National Congress could have approved for the rich to pay a little more tax,” said the president.
“It’s funny because working people pay 27.5% Income Tax on their salary and the rich don’t want to pay 12%. They think that yesterday, ‘ah, we defeated the government’. They didn’t defeat the government, they defeated the Brazilian people, they defeated the possibility of improving the Brazilian people’s quality of life by taking more money from the rich and distributing it to the poor.”
In government WhatsApp groups and on social media, videos made with artificial intelligence once again branded the center and the opposition as defenders of billionaire privileges
The main target was (Republicans), today the main name being considered to compete with Lula in 2026 and pointed out by government supporters as one of the main guarantors of the government’s defeat in the Chamber. Tarcísio denies it, although the leader of , Sóstenes Cavalcante (RJ), has, on the stand, .
In one of the videos, a man in a suit and tie offers a toast in a luxurious environment, saying he would like to thank the Bolsonaristas and the governor of São Paulo. “Finally only the poor will pay taxes, long live the bets, the banks and the billionaires.”
In another, a woman created with artificial intelligence says: “Do you hear the sound of champagne bottles popping? Bets, bankers and billionaires are having a party.” Another adds: “Bolsonaro deputies and the center have just taken R$35 billion from the public coffers.”
“With this vote there is no way. Congress definitely embraces the title of ‘Congress enemy of the people’,” said the leader of the PT bench in the Chamber, Lindbergh Farias (RJ), in a post on his social networks.
Minister Gleisi Hoffmann, who heads Lula’s political organization, also went online to write: “What Tarcísio wants to hide is that he is the candidate of billionaires, bets and coup plotters.”
Tarcísio this Thursday to respond to criticism and deny participation in the government’s defeat.
“The PT’s strategy has always been this: to sell a perfect world in advertising, spending their money for this, to spread fake news, fear, hatred, on those who think differently from them”, said the governor, stating that he was interrupting work in São Paulo and making the statement only because “patience has a limit”.
“Now the PT wants to accuse me of having worked to prevent the government from charging more taxes to the population. I’m working for São Paulo, to change people’s lives, to make a difference. […] Playing each other against each other in an absurd way and wanting the population to support tax increases, no one, neither me nor the country, will support.”
Governor Ronaldo Caiado (União Brasil-GO), another of the opposition’s pre-candidates for the Presidency, also criticized Lula’s MP and defended her rejection in an internet post. “Attention, deputies: voting in favor of MP 1303 is voting to increase taxes and give a gift of R$30 billion for the Lula government to spend in 2026.”
Behind the scenes, government parliamentarians say that this Wednesday’s result in the Chamber plenary reinforced the Lula government’s opportunity to win public opinion with campaigns.
It began precisely after Congress overturned decrees that increased the IOF, in June.
The PT began sponsoring a strong offensive on the networks with the motto rich versus poor, with videos produced by artificial intelligence and which targeted Congress, the center and the opposition. The successful initiative took the government off the hook for the first time on social media, putting the opposition’s motto that “no one can handle more taxes” on the defensive.
Despite this Thursday’s offensive, congressmen question the reach of this propaganda and its effectiveness in breaking the leftist bubble. Furthermore, they see a risk of worsening Lula’s relationship with Congress as the campaign against the deputies also affects the president of the Chamber, Hugo Motta (Republicanos-PB), who has demonstrated a certain rapprochement with the government.
After the wear and tear with the Blindagem PEC and the street demonstrations, Motta was making an effort, which included a series of interviews, to improve the image of the Chamber, highlighting the approval of public security guidelines and the exemption from Income Tax.
Parliamentarians also say that it was a mistake on the part of the PT to remove the taxation of bets from the MP, a decision that PT members attribute to the sector’s strong lobby and the attempt to reach an agreement. For them, this change in the text by rapporteur Carlos Zarattini (PT-SP) cracked the government’s base and weakened the discourse that the opposition is acting to privilege this sector.
It is expected that the center will retaliate against the government in new votes and, therefore, government supporters claim that the Palácio do Planalto should contact Congress as little as possible.
As a more practical and immediate response, PT deputies defend that the government maps out and dismisses positions linked to parliamentarians who have voted against Lula. They also say they hope that the Minister of Finance, Fernando Haddad (PT), will present alternatives to recover the revenue expected from the measure.
