The government on the outs with Congress (again)

The relationship between President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and congressional leaders has entered another downward cycle, with tempers flaring simultaneously in the House and Senate — and key parts of the government’s fiscal and political agenda are suddenly at risk. 

In the House, the government’s relationship with Speaker Hugo Motta has long been an uneasy one. It worsened in recent weeks after Motta handed the rapporteurship of a flagship public-security bill to far-right Congressman Guilherme Derrite, who heavily rewrote the proposal before it passed last week.

Tensions peaked this week, when Motta publicly cut ties with the government’s House whip, Lindbergh Farias.