Congress strikes down Lula’s licensing vetoes

Less than a week after the end of COP30, during which Brazil sought to position itself as a global leader on environmental issues, the federal government was on Thursday dealt a severe blow by Congress, which overturned dozens of presidential vetoes to the controversial environmental licensing law, first passed in May.

In a joint session attended by members of the House and Senate, Brazil’s Congress overturned a total of 56 of the 63 items President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva had vetoed in August. The result comes as a major win for Brasília’s agribusiness caucus and sectors keen on speeding up infrastructure development, but represents a significant political setback for the government.

On Wednesday, we explained how the Lula administration has fallen out with congressional leaders, creating the political stew that facilitated Thursday’s overturning of vetoes.