The president (PT) prioritized capitals from the Southeast and Northeast on official trips in the three years of the current term. The only one of these cities in the country that was left out during this period was (TO).
Survey of the Ficam Sabendo transparency platform carried out at the request of Sheet shows that, together, the cities of Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo were the most visited. There were more than 40 trips during the current term, with around 20 in Rio and 25 in São Paulo. The report ignored times when the president used cities as a stopover for flights abroad.
In addition to being the most populous region in the country, the Southeast has important electoral strongholds, considered strategic for presidential campaigns.
Lula went to Belo Horizonte eight times in his third term. The president visited other cities in Minas Gerais twice more, a region where the PT member is still looking for a campaigner for this year’s election. The state is governed by Romeu Zema (Novo), a declared opponent of Lula.
Planalto states that presidential agendas are planned based on the delivery of works and services, the population served and the schedules of government bodies.
“The Southeast region naturally stands out for concentrating the largest population in the country [cerca de 40%]. In the case of the Northeast, the region has the largest number of states [9 de 26] and, therefore, capital”, says the government, in a note sent to the reporter.
The Southeast has around 40% of the country’s population. The Northeast has 9 capitals, the North, 7; Midwest, 3; Southeast, 4; and South, 3.
Belém, headquarters of the (Climate Conference) in 2025, was the third most frequented capital by PT members, with 12 visits. In the North region, the city is followed by Manaus, with three, Boa Vista (RR) and Macapá (AP), with two visits each, and Rio Branco (AC) and Porto Velho (RO), with just one.
The president even completed an agenda in a municipality in Tocantins, Araguaína, but without having activities in the state capital. In the city, he inaugurated the Xambioá bridge, which connects Araguaína to São Geraldo do Araguaia (PA).
During Lula’s presidency, Palmas City Hall was under the command of two names: Cinthia Ribeiro (PSDB) and Eduardo Siqueira (Podemos), current manager. When contacted, municipal management did not comment.
The current mayor was temporarily removed from office when he was preventively arrested, in June 2025, on suspicion of involvement in a scheme to leak and sell decisions at the STJ (Superior Court of Justice) with the participation of public servants.
At the time, Siqueira even claimed to have received leaked information from a court minister about an ongoing investigation. Despite this, Siqueira after the STF (Supreme Federal Court) revoked his arrest, three weeks later.
Despite the lack of public agendas with the president in his city, the mayor already went to Palácio do Planalto in 2024. On that occasion, he met with the then head of the Secretariat of Institutional Relations, now Minister of Health.
Cities and states in Lula’s main political bases had a considerable number of visits. This was the case in Pernambuco, where the PT member has the support of both the state government, under the command of Raquel Lyra (PSD), and the mayor of Recife, (PSB), the capital where he was ten times during his term.
In May last year, the PT member expressed his intention to , which actually happened. Of the three years in office, 2025 was the year in which the president made the most trips, at least 146, between national and international commitments, according to the survey. In 2024, Lula traveled around 90 times, while in 2023 there were less than 80.
Given the busy international scenario of 2025, with the diplomatic crisis experienced between Brazil and the United States, the preparations to host COP30, the moves to sign the Mercosur-European Union agreement and other demands, Lula also increased the number of visits, visiting 34 countries.
Unlike how it is done with ministers and other authorities, the publication of the president’s agendas is not included in the system that brings together the official commitments of members of the Union. The information is published daily on the Palácio do Planalto portal, from which it is not possible to download the data compiled in the way it is done with other authorities.
