Congressmen speak of Lula’s hypocrisy for ending a measure created by the government itself
Opposition congressmen criticized the decision of the president (PT) to revoke, on Tuesday (May 12, 2026), the call. Members of the right classified the measure as “voter” and they said that the government was hypocritical in abolishing a tax created by the PT administration itself less than 5 months before the elections. The revocation was made official through a provisional measure by the head of the Executive.
The MP revokes the federal charge on international purchases of up to US$50 made on e-commerce platforms. The tax had been implemented in 2024 and became known as the “blouse tax” as it mainly affected consumers on foreign retail websites. The government argued, at the time, that the measure sought to balance competition between national and foreign companies.
The leader of the PL in the Chamber, federal deputy (RJ), said that only with the senator and party’s pre-candidate for President, (PL), “the blouses will not have fees for 4 years” of the presidential term.
The federal deputy (PL-DF) stated that Lula decided to revoke the tax out of electoral interest. In , the congresswoman declared the following: “After having raised almost R$2 billion with the ‘blouse tax’ – which Janja said would only be paid by companies – now, Lula, less than 5 months before the elections, decides to revoke the charge. Before, it was for the good of the retail sector. And now, what does it look like? Anything goes to deceive the voter on the eve of the elections.”
The senator (PL-RJ) said that the government removed a charge created by the president himself. In , he stated the following: “Lula removes the tax that Lula himself had imposed on the population. That’s better. But it’s like ‘the doctor is the monster’… don’t doubt it. There’s no way this ungoverned Lula government can work.”
The federal deputy (PL-MG) that the revocation represents a “election year miracle”. In the accompanying video, he said: “This guy has just revoked the tax on blouses that he created. It’s the miracle of the election year, which even made him go back to church during the election year as well. Remember that at the beginning Janja said that the tax was only for the company and not for the government.”
Tax on blouses revoked by those who… created them!!!
— Nikolas Ferreira (@nikolas_dm)
The president of, Eduardo Ribeiroalso linked the revocation to the electoral calendar. In , he stated the following: “When he created the Blouse Tax, Lula was worried about taking money from the people. He didn’t even think about the traders and consumers who lost out. Now, worried about the election, Lula ended the Tax. But Brazilians won’t forget it. And the change comes at the ballot box.”
Even with the end of the federal tax, the state ICMS (Tax on Circulation of Goods and Services) will continue to be charged on imports. The government argues that the decision was possible after expanding regulation of the sector and combating smuggling in recent years.
