POLITICS
Leadership crisis leaves Congress in a messy situation
Far-right lawmakers occupied Brazil’s Congress this week, their mouths taped shut in protest of a house arrest order against Jair Bolsonaro — a move they denounce as an attempt to silence the former president. Photo: José Cruz/EBC
Brazil’s Congress is mired in a leadership crisis that erupted in dramatic fashion this week, when lawmakers aligned with former President Jair Bolsonaro occupied both chambers and brought proceedings to a standstill. What began as a show of force by the far right has revealed deep fractures within the so-called Big Center, a bloc of center-right but ideologically fluid parties that has long dominated Brazilian politics.
The group’s grievances are varied. In the lower house, Speaker Hugo Motta has disappointed allies barely six months into the job. Elected by his peers on the promise of ending the pandemic-era practice of…
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