Despite the government having adopted the agenda as a priority, congressmen from the base said that significant progress in 2026 is very difficult
The discussion about the end of the 6×1 scale has become one of Lula’s priorities for 2026, the election year. The government will send a new text to Congress shortly after Carnival. “This is a central debate, it is a priority for President Lula”, said the deputy leader of the government in Congress Lindbergh Farias (PT-RJ). The text will be sent to Congress under a constitutional urgency regime, that is, with each legislative house taking 45 days to process it.
The deputy stated that the project “is an agenda for the country” and that “society demands that the issue be treated as a priority”.
The president of the Chamber, Hugo Motta (Republicanos-PB), has already signaled that he will put the matter on the agenda. “We must also accelerate the debate on the PEC 6×1, with balance and responsibility, listening to workers and employers”, he said last Monday (2).
The report found that part of the government base is pessimistic about progress on the matter in 2026 due to the complexity of the issue. Others, however, believe that popular appeal will force Congress to discuss the matter and that a vote this year is possible.
The agenda, although extremely popular, comes up against economic issues: a possible end to the 6×1 scale could result in the closure of jobs and a slowdown in commerce, warned economic experts linked to the government. High employability and purchasing power are two of the government’s main banners to praise the current administration.
The subject is also rejected by the business community, which has not yet entered the field to argue against the change because they consider that the debate is incipient and would cause wear and tear.
The insistence on the subject is also part of a strategy to gain more popularity and reduce the high rejection that prevents Lula from gaining an advantage in the polls. In an election year and with little time for debate, the PT member could have the best of both worlds: positioning himself as the main defender of a popular agenda, but not facing the difficulties in approving the matter until the end of the elections. With this, the government’s base hopes for a reduction in rejection and a smoother path to re-election.
The latest Atlas/Intel survey, released this Wednesday (21), exemplifies the scenario that concerns the PT: in the 1st round disputes, the current president has 48% to 49% of voting intentions in all scenarios. In the 2nd round polls, Lula stands at 49%, still ahead of all potential opponents, but revealing the difficulty that the PT member has in convincing voters of other candidates or undecided voters.
The survey also asked voters which candidates they “would not vote for at all”. Lula was the second most rejected, with 49.7%. He was only behind former president Jair Bolsonaro (PL), who, despite being ineligible, was rejected by 50% of those interviewed.
You . Lula has not been able to transform the recent positive agendas in the economy – such as record unemployment, inflation within the target and approval of the IR exemption for those earning up to R$5,000, in addition to the international prominence with the fall in Trump’s “tariff” – into positive voting intentions in the economy – such as record unemployment, inflation within the target and approval of the IR exemption for those earning up to R$5,000, in addition to the international protagonism with the fall in Trump’s “tariff”. – in voting intentions.
PT targets young people
One of the numbers that most scared the PT in the latest Atlas Intel survey was the rejection of the current president among younger people. 75.5% of respondents aged 16 to 24 disapprove of the government.
The number is slightly higher than the rejection among evangelicals (74.2%), a demographic already identified as a problem for the party. The acronym has tried, in recent years, to win over Protestants, who are generally more conservative.
Rejection among younger people, however, is new: founded in 1980, the PT has always enjoyed popularity among young people. It was they, together with trade unionists and intellectuals, who encouraged the party’s growth in redemocratization and who accredited Lula’s rise to the Planalto.
More disillusioned and more conservative, the current generation of young people was born with a party consolidated among the largest in the country. He also grew up seeing the PT in power. Therefore, he does not see the acronym as a form of change. The party’s more analogue way of communicating is also seen as an obstacle to penetrating the Z and Alpha generations.
The discussion about the end of the 6×1 scale, which gained traction on the internet before reaching Brasília, is seen as a unique opportunity to reach a younger audience. On another axis, the left is trying to modernize its way of communicating to dialogue with these voters. They admit, however, that the right remains far ahead in the narrative war waged on social media.
