President criticizes current Congress, cites shielding PEC and says that progressive camp needs to elect more parliamentarians
The president (PT) said this Thursday (October 16, 2025) that the left needs to win a large majority in Congress in 2026. He criticized right-wing congressmen and the strategy in cases such as the PEC that gave immunity to party presidents, known as “PEC of shielding”.
The president criticized the performance of current congressmen, pointing out that “many are not qualified for the position”.
“He’s not worried about the agenda, he’s not worried about the debate. So, how are we going to prepare? PT, PCdoB, PDT, PSD, PSOL and other parties in the party, how are we going to prepare to face this machine and guarantee a Congress in which we can have a majority to resume our agendas?”declared during the opening of the 16th PCdoB Congress, in Brasília.
“Whoever doesn’t have an amendment has no chance of competing. This is a challenge for us, because the right doesn’t want us to be worse than them” stated Lula.
SACRED MANUAL OF 2026
Lula admitted that he “may be a candidate”. “If I decide to be a candidate, it’s not to run, it’s just so we can win these elections”he stated.
For 2026, defined by him as a “sacred manual”, the president defended the need to bring political discourse closer to the population, especially in regions where the left has little presence.
The president’s biggest criticism, however, fell on the language and scope of the progressive discourse. “We have to calibrate our speech to speak to society to make a speech worthwhile. We don’t have to give much importance to Faria Lima, no. Our speech is for the Brazilian people”he stated.
He also mentioned that the right has dominance in digital networks and this is a decisive factor in the elections. “The right has taken over the digital network. It took us a long time to discover it”he stated.
He also called for a different strategy: running as many candidates as possible to gain votes.
“When we believe that the deputy is important, we will launch as many candidates as we can. Because if there are 1000 candidates, each one has one vote and multiplied, but if there is only one, there is only one vote”he explained, suggesting that the strategic fragmentation of candidacies can strengthen the progressive coalition.
CRITICISM OF CONGRESS
Lula also mentioned the shielding PEC, approved in the Chamber in 2025, which gave the party president the right to request immunity from internal proceedings. “They tried to approve a PEC in the Chamber that protected gangs”, he said, remembering that the measure mobilized the left on the streets.
The president also criticized the concentration of parliamentary amendments. The government is preparing a contingency strategy in response to the IOF MP, which would increase taxes.
PC DO B CONGRESS
Lula participated in the opening of the communist congress accompanied by ministers and party leaders from the allied base. Among them were:
The event, which runs until October 19, brings together around 600 delegates and should return Luciana Santos to the presidency of PCdoB. The party also pays tribute to the victims of the military dictatorship, remembering that it was one of the parties most persecuted by the regime that began in 1964.
