the government’s main bet () for , was another episode in (-PB) with the PT administration and reinforced the left’s distrust of the president of .
Motta had been making gestures to the President of the Republic. He participated in government events, helped with the approval of projects of interest to the Executive and worked in negotiations with central parties, such as PP and União Brasil, with the PT member.
These movements, in the opinion of politicians, sought to reinforce their own position in the Chamber and strengthen themselves in the electoral scenario of their state for 2026. On the one hand, they seek to consolidate a support base through the distribution of positions and parliamentary amendments. On the other hand, he works to get Lula a seat in the Senate.
Despite the gestures of rapprochement, members of the government and deputies from Lula’s base say that Motta gives dubious signals and speak of distrust in his management. They recognize that the deputy needs to nod to the opposition so as not to lose control of the plenary, but they believe that, at crucial moments this year, he .
This is what happened, in the view of government officials, with the choice of the rapporteur of the anti-faction project. Derrite is the secretary of Public Security for the governor (Republicans), Lula’s potential opponent in 2026. For members of Palácio do Planalto and government deputies, the decision was wrong.
An aide to Lula stated, with reservations, that the signaling with this was very bad. Another says that it has the potential to strain the deputy’s relationship with the federal government, after an improvement.
The president of the Chamber had intensified his gestures to the government, after imposing defeats on important issues for the PT administration and acting to approve matters considered unpopular, such as the PEC (Proposed Amendment to the Constitution) of Blindagem, which damaged his image and that of the Legislature.
In recent weeks, he met with Lula, participated in government events and managed to approve projects of interest to the Executive, and, in addition to putting the brakes on.
He also began working with Minister Gleisi Hoffmann, from the SRI (Institutional Relations Secretariat), to the PT member in the Legislature, with the distribution of positions and payment of parliamentary amendments to the Budget.
This movement, however, also generated criticism from the opposition, and even Motta’s allies are already casting doubt on the viability of re-election to the House leadership, due to the supposed rapprochement with the government — which is criticized for what congressmen consider to be a low rate of payment for amendments.
An important ally of the President of the Chamber recognizes that there is dissatisfaction with his work and states that, judging by the current scenario, his re-election in 2027 is now being questioned. In private conversations, deputies from right-wing and center parties are already discussing possible names to face him.
Another ally of Motta states that it is still too early to discuss the presidency and that parliamentarians moving into the dispute need, first, to guarantee that they will be elected in 2026. He also maintains that this election will also depend on who is chosen president of the Republic.
When contacted by the report, the president of the Chamber stated that day-to-day life in Parliament is a “complex construction”. “But, in the end, looking as a whole, there were a lot of positive things done. I had support from all parties in my election and I need to balance this when carrying out the work”, he said.
Since the beginning of Motta’s administration, government officials have been betting on a rapprochement because of next year’s elections. That’s because your father for the Senate. In 2022, the PT member was elected with 66.62% of the votes in Paraíba, while Jair Bolsonaro (PL) had 33.38%.
This support, however, comes up against local difficulties, as Senator Veneziano Vital do Rêgo (MDB-PB), Lula’s faithful ally in the , will seek re-election. The other vacancy that would already have assured support from the PT member is that of the current governor, João Azevêdo (PSB). To interlocutors, Motta denies that the election in Paraíba is linked to his performance in the Chamber and says that he will only address this issue next year.
Politicians close to the deputy say they do not see the federal government isolating the parliamentarian in the state, but recognize that it is a complicated scenario. PT names are already talking about working on building a unique platform for Lula. A member of the government says that the tendency is for Lula to help Motta, but he also hopes that the parliamentarian will guarantee stability in the Chamber until the end of 2026.
An ally of Lula in Congress claims that the left is not sure which side Motta is on. In addition to Derrite’s choice, he complains about the lack of punishment so far, and the “excessive influence” of the senator (PP-PI) – who works to be vice-president on Lula’s opposing ticket.
He also remembers that Motta imposed two major defeats on the government in plenary: the overthrow of the and the Chamber’s decision to leave.
As a way of trying to reverse the deterioration in his image after the popular mobilization against the Blindagem PEC, Motta started to guide projects of popular interest, such as , in addition to articles on public security and education.
