👊 Gloves off

POLITICS

Lula administration picks a fight with Congress

In a move that underscores Brazil’s deepening institutional rifts, the Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva administration is taking its battle with Congress over a tax hike to the country’s Supreme Court.

The government is expected today to file a lawsuit seeking to overturn a humiliating defeat suffered last week, when lawmakers overwhelmingly repealed a presidential decree that raised the IOF, a tax on financial transactions. As Congress blocked the tax hike, the Finance Ministry was left scrambling for revenue to make ends meet.

Technically, the government didn’t need to sue: the far-left Socialism and Freedom Party (PSOL), an ally, had already filed a case challenging Congress’s decision based on a technicality. But Lula’s team is making a broader point …

🔒 This was a free preview; the rest is behind our paywall

Don’t miss out! Upgrade to unlock full access. The process takes only seconds with Apple Pay or Stripe. Become a member.

Why you should subscribe

We’re here for readers who want to truly understand Brazil and Latin America — a region too often ignored or misrepresented by the international media.

Since 2017, our reporting has been powered by paid subscribers. They’re the reason we can keep a full-time team of 10 journalists across Brazil and Argentina, delivering sharp, independent coverage every day.

If you value our work, subscribing is the best way to keep it going — and growing.

Our annual plan goes for just USD 0.52 a day — but the value you'll get back from it is truly immeasurable. So… what’s stopping you from joining right now?