Allies of the president () say that the former president of the Chamber (-AL) demonstrated this Wednesday (26) that he can act as one of the main interlocutors of Palácio do Planalto in Congress, .
Lira was exempt from the tax for those earning up to R$5,000, as he was the rapporteur of the proposal in the Chamber, and spoke at the event, considered one of the main political acts of the Lula 3 administration. The presidents of the Chamber, (-PB), and of , (União Brasil-AP), were invited, . They would also have the right to speak at the event.
The assessment of the President of the Republic’s allies is that Lira demonstrated that she is capable of being an interlocutor for the Palace and left, at a time of quarrel with Motta and complaints about the deputy’s performance at the head of the Chamber.
Motta . The House leadership talks about a bad time with the Palácio do Planalto, complaining about what it classifies as a lack of compliance with established agreements and low budget execution. Furthermore, Motta’s group accuses the federal government of encouraging and promoting attacks on the Chamber’s image in public opinion.
In this scenario, say Motta’s interlocutors, there was no atmosphere for him to attend the ceremony. In the absence of the parliamentarian, Lira stood out. He gave a speech praising the President of the Republic and members of the government, such as the minister (Secretariat of Institutional Relations), and preached dialogue. He began his speech by congratulating the PT member on the sanction of the rule and saying that he had “the honor” of working with him over the last two years, while he was in charge of the Chamber.
“We had and still have the most prosperous, correct, peaceful and always institutional relationship aimed at balancing important votes for Brazil,” said Lira. He then stated that it is always “a pleasure” for leaders when they manage to “honor campaign commitments in the way they were made”.
The increase in IR exemption was Lula’s campaign promise in 2022, and the government held off on sanctioning it — as it is considered one of Planalto’s main bets to boost the PT member’s popularity before the 2026 elections.
For a party president from the center, the space occupied by Lira this Wednesday is something negative for Motta, who ends up overshadowed. On the other hand, he emphasizes that the president of the House has support and respect among deputies.
Motta’s interlocutors minimize the parliamentarian’s absence at the event and possible dispute over protagonism with Lira. An ally of his says that Motta spoke to Lira earlier this Wednesday to inform her that he would not participate in the ceremony and that he was aware that the former president of the Chamber would give a speech on the occasion.
Motta was elected president of the Chamber in February, which had almost majority support from the parties in the House. Since then, however, there has been a tremor in the relationship between the two politicians.
A frequent interlocutor of Motta says that it was planned that Lira would give a speech in a complimentary tone and that there was no noise between the two. He also states that the Chamber’s agenda is up to Motta and that the discussion of other topics, excluding the IR exemption, did not go through Lira.
He also warns that, if the government exploits this relationship with Lira to the detriment of Motta, this could disrupt contact with the Chamber’s leadership.
Two government parliamentarians saw the former president of the Chamber’s stance as positive. They said that for the government, the more interlocutors they can put in place to improve the relationship with Congress, the better it will be.
An ally of Lula says he considered the absence of the two heads of the Legislature at the ceremony to be a major political error, given the importance of the sanctioned proposal. According to him, this gesture consolidates an image that Congress is distant from popular interests. Furthermore, he states that this decision causes the Chamber and the Senate to lose the leading role they could have had with the Executive with the approval of the extremely popular matter.
He also says that Lira leaves the ceremony today with greater political weight, at a time when Motta’s legitimacy in the Chamber is also questioned.
In general, PT members minimize the friction with Motta, but make it clear that Lindbergh has the support of the bench. They state that moments of tension are common and see Lira as a skilled political articulator, who can help resolve the situation.
At this Wednesday’s ceremony, Lira said she would like to give Gleisi a “special hug”, praising his performance at the head of SRI. “My colleague from the Federal Chamber has had very hard coordination work, because articulation demands this, and has suffered a lot, because talking and dialoging and making agreements requires listening more”, he stated.
Lira mentioned Motta at least twice in her speech, thanking him for his decision to appoint him rapporteur and for conducting the vote in plenary. “It is an essential initiative for strengthening tax justice in Brazil, the report of which was entrusted to me by the excellent President of the Chamber, Hugo Motta, to whom I thank for his trust and permanent support throughout the entire process.”
He also said that the approval in the Chamber, which was unanimous, took place under the “guidance of President Hugo”. Then he preached the dialogue.
“This unanimity is not a mere detail. It demonstrates, President Lula, the size of this victory for your government and for Brazil, for the Brazilian people. And the importance of something that I consider a fundamental element in any republican construction: dialogue. We are not obliged to like it, to respect it, but we are obliged, by function of office, by popular demand, to always dialogue in favor of the country and the Brazilian population”, he said.
He cooperated Carolina Linharesfrom Brasilia
