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IN THIS ISSUE

• Congress and the Supreme Court on a collision course

• Brazil’s interest rates hit a 19-year high

• The social security scandal is only getting worse

Institutional clashes becoming the norm in Brasília

The lower house has triggered a major constitutional standoff with the country’s Supreme Court after passing a resolution suspending a criminal case involving Congressman Alexandre Ramagem, a former intelligence chief and key ally of former President Jair Bolsonaro.

Driving the news. The resolution, approved by a 315-143 majority, halts the proceedings of a Supreme Court case in which Ramagem is investigated for his alleged role in a plot to overturn democracy and keep Bolsonaro in power after losing the 2022 election. 

• The measure, which bypasses Senate approval, was enacted immediately by House Speaker Hugo Motta. Ramagem is currently the only sitting lawmaker formally charged in the sprawling investigation into Brazil’s Jan. 8, 2023, insurrection.

👉 Why it matters. The Supreme Court is expected to strike the resolution down as unconstitutional, which would further inflame tensions between Brazil’s branches of government. 

The legal issue. While the House argues it is exercising its constitutional prerogative to suspend prosecutions of its members for crimes allegedly committed during their term, legal experts and Supreme Court justices view the decision as overreach — not least because the case against Ramagem concerns events that occurred before he was sworn into office.

• The Supreme Court had already warned that Ramagem’s case does not meet the criteria for congressional intervention, which is only valid for minor infractions and actions taken during the exercise of parliamentary duties.

• The resolution’s rapporteur, however, claims that the events happened after Ramagem was elected, which would place the case under Congress’s jurisdiction.

Look deeper. While the immediate beneficiary of the move is Jair Bolsonaro, House lawmakers are creating a hedge for themselves — many of them face the prospect of being investigated by Justice Flávio Dino, who scrutinizes the misuse of congressional budgetary earmarks. 

What to make of the case. A new clash between Brazil’s Congress and the Supreme Court is imminent, and the Lula administration has shown little political muscle to act as a buffer, leaving the stage set for institutional conflict.

• House Speaker Hugo Motta, who has tried to cast himself as a political mediator, now finds himself beholden to a coalition increasingly willing to challenge judicial authority — and he appears powerless before the House floor.

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