🏛️ New leaders, same issues?

The new leaders of Congress. And a far-too-early look at the 2026 electoral snapshot

Good morning! Markets dropped in Europe and Asia after US President Donald Trump decided to impose tariffs on Mexico, Canada and China — announcing a tense trading session in Brazil today. For many, it is only a matter of time before Trump sets his sights on Brazil with a tariff hike — and the Lula administration should weigh up its response. Last week, President Lula vowed to retaliate in kind if the US raised trade barriers.

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New speaker pledges government cooperation, but Supreme Court tensions will likely endure

New House Speaker Hugo Motta lifts a copy of the Constitution aloft, emulating the gesture of former Speaker Ulysses Guimarães when the Constitution was enacted in 1988. Photo: Zeca Ribeiro/House

New House Speaker Hugo Motta lifts a copy of the Constitution aloft, emulating the gesture of former Speaker Ulysses Guimarães when the Constitution was enacted in 1988. Photo: Zeca Ribeiro/House

To no one’s surprise, Congressman Hugo Motta of Paraíba was elected speaker of Brazil’s lower house on Saturday, securing 444 votes and broad bipartisan backing — from the far-right Liberal Party (PL) of former President Jair Bolsonaro to the leftist Workers’ Party (PT) of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. At 35, he is the youngest House speaker in Brazilian history.

Power distribution. On Saturday, the House also elected a new directive board. The PL secured the first deputy chairperson position (Altineu Cortes), and the right-wing União Brasil party took the second (Elmar Nascimento). The PT claimed the first secretary seat (Carlos Veras), followed by the Big Center parties PP (Lula da Fonte), PSD (Delegada Katarina), and MDB (Sergio Souza) in other key posts.

Who is Hugo Motta? A career politician from a traditional political family, Motta was first elected to the House in 2010 at age 21. He has held key roles since, including chairing the powerful Finance and Taxation Committee (CFT) in 2014.

  • Backed by agribusiness, finance and real estate sectors, he has aligned himself with several federal administrations in the past, from that of Dilma Rousseff to the Jair Bolsonaro government.

  • Motta is a member of the Republicans, a party closely aligned with the neo-Pentecostal Universal Church of the Kingdom of God. His ties to the Lula administration deepened after fellow party member Silvio Costa Filho was named minister of ports and airports.

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