The president () defended the , without a salary reduction, in the traditional speech of , this Wednesday (24), and took to the national radio and television network themes that should form part of the speech of the PT campaign for the 2026 elections.
In his speech, which began broadcast at 8:30 pm and lasted just 6 minutes and 39 seconds, Lula took stock of the progress made by the government during the year, highlighting the “victory” achieved in negotiations with the president over the tariffs imposed by the . When talking about the subject, the image appears of Lula shaking hands with the North American — already by PT members.
The head of the Executive also praised the expansion of the range of ) for those earning up to R$5,000 per month, one of the main banners of Lula’s campaign and the government’s bet for next year’s election.
President Lula also made reference to the fight against organized crime in his speech, despite the optimistic tone in his speech, the topic is a .
Another flag that should be explored in the 2026 electoral dispute is an agenda that is being processed in more than one proposal and has the support of Planalto. A PEC (proposed amendment to the Constitution) on the topic, by senator Paulo Paim (-RS), was in December, with the aim of gradually reducing the work schedule from 44 hours a week to 36 hours.
In his Christmas speech, Lula argued that the right to time is urgent and that it is not fair to have just one day of rest as free time.
“No right is as urgent today as the right to time. It is not fair that a person is forced to work hard for six days and only has one day to rest their body and head, walk with their family, take care of the house, have fun and closely monitor their children’s growth,” he said. “The end of the 6×1 scale, without salary reduction, is a demand from the people that it is up to us, representatives of the people, to listen to and transform into reality.”
In a conversation with journalists in December, the country was ready to shorten the working day. In addition to Lula, the president of , (Republicanos-PB), also stated that the topic will “certainly” be discussed in 2026.
The topic of security is one of the main concerns of Brazilians, . The agenda promises to be central to the 2026 elections and became the target of political clashes after the police operation, in October this year, being the most lethal in history.
Lula highlighted the , launched in August, which targeted relations between the PCC (First Command of the Capital), gas stations and companies in Faria Lima. The action targeted around 300 targets and also generated developments, in conjunction with state agencies and the .
“We know that crime and violence are two major challenges facing our country. This year, we commanded the largest operation ever carried out against organized crime. The fight against criminal factions reached the top floor for the first time, and no money or influence will stop the Federal Police from moving forward”, he said.
Regarding violence, Lula also commented on cases of feminicide, which this year generated protests by women across the country demanding a fight against violence against women. In the city of , there were 53 occurrences in 2025.
In his speech, the president stated that he will lead an effort involving ministries and other institutions to combat gender-based violence. “We who are men must make a soul commitment. In the name of everything that is most sacred, be an ally”, he said.
Throughout his term, the president accumulates mistakes and mistakes that are considered sexist. In one of them, when condemning domestic violence, he said jokingly that “if the guy is a Corinthians fan, that’s fine.”
Lula also addressed issues that marked the country throughout 2025, such as Donald Trump’s tariffs. In August, a 50% surcharge came into force on Brazilian products exported to the USA. When justifying the increase in tariffs, the American president criticized the decisions made by the former president (PL), convicted of a coup plot.
In recent months, there has been a rapprochement between Trump and Lula after the Republican said he had with the Brazilian president. In November, it was sold throughout Brazil, such as coffee and meat.
“We showed Brazil and the world that we are for dialogue, fraternity and we do not run away from the fight. We bet on , we protect our companies, we avoid layoffs. We negotiated the end of tariffs, and now in December we surpassed the mark of 500 new markets open to our products. Our sovereignty and our democracy came out victorious”, stated Lula in his speech.
With the negotiations, the percentage of overtaxed products, according to a calculation by the Brazilian government.
Another subject addressed by Lula in the speech was the income tax exemption for those who earn up to R$5,000 per month. In his speech, Lula stated that the measure was a great victory.
“For millions of Brazilians, the last day of the year will also be the last day with a deduction from their salary. From January onwards, with the end of IR, millions of families will have extra money every month. This will ease their bills, heat up the economy even more and benefit the entire country”, he declared.
The project also provides for a progressive discount on IR for those who receive between R$5,000 and R$7,350 per month, which will be reduced for taxpayers in the latter range. Calculations estimate that around 15 million Brazilians will stop paying the tax under the new rule.
To compensate for the loss of revenue with the exemption, the proposal creates a minimum tax of 10% on the super-rich, a group of 140,000 taxpayers with earnings above R$600,000 per year — or R$50,000 per month.
