Congress, which did not work in February, is increasing pressure to obtain concessions from Lula.

After the internal elections in the first two days of the month, the Chamber of Deputies and the Congress wasted February without working. During the extended recess, no one went without pay. The break is part of the strategy of the parties, especially those of the Centrão (center-right bloc), to extract positions and concessions from the Lula government, which still does not have a solid and clear parliamentary base.

Normal functioning will only resume in March, when the presidencies of the permanent technical committees, currently 25 in the Chamber of Deputies and 14 in the Senate, will have been divided among the parties. But this is not the only reason for the sluggishness of Congress. In the Chamber of Deputies, President Arthur Lira and his allies in the Centrão (center-right bloc) are trying to build a party federation bringing together PP, PL, and União Brasil.

This bloc, which is already being called the "New Center," if it becomes a reality, could bring together around 130 deputies (practically the same size as the left combined), which will give the member parties more strength to wrest from Lula the positions they most covet. André Janones' Avante party is also discussing joining the federation. It's not very easy, as there are disagreements and disputes among them, but their ambition may be greater.
They want, for example, to maintain control of the São Francisco and Parnaíba Valleys Development Company (Codevasf), the National Department of Works Against Drought (Dnocs), the National Fund for the Development of Education (FNDE), or the Superintendencies for the Development of the Northeast (Sudene) and the Amazon (Sudam).

These are highly coveted positions for opportunistic politicians because, through public works and benefits to their electoral bases, they manage to expand their regional influence, getting re-elected and electing mayors who support them. This is what Bolsonaro called "old politics" in 2018, and to which he has completely surrendered. The Lula government has resisted until now but is beginning to give in, admitting to a cohabitation in Codevasf, where the president would be retained and the directorates renewed.

Lula said yesterday (February 14th) that there are "lots of Bolsonaro supporters" still hiding in the government and that they need to be removed. But he knows that this will not be entirely possible. The government will need many votes to approve matters such as tax reform and the new fiscal anchor. The hidden Bolsonaro supporters are, for the most part, appointed by conservative parties.

The government leader in Congress, Senator Randolfe Rodrigues, countered the demands from the União Brasil party for more positions, saying that the party already has too much influence in the government and will have to give up at least 80% of its votes. Currently, União Brasil holds the ministries of Tourism (Daniela Carneiro) and Communications (Juscelino Filho). It also nominated the Minister of National Integration, Valdez Goes, even though he is from the PDT party.
Every government also needs allies in the presidencies of the most important technical committees. That's why the PT (Workers' Party) quickly secured the presidency of the Chamber's Constitution and Justice Committee, the CCJ, where the processing of any matter begins. But there are other important ones as well, such as the Oversight and Control Committee - CFC.
Lira, who was re-elected with the support of all parties with seats in the Chamber, held a meeting yesterday with leaders to begin discussing the division of powers. It was agreed that the PT and PL, the two largest parties, will each make the four initial "requests." They will keep the most important ones. The PL wants to keep the CFC, the commission that investigates government actions and usually summons ministers to give explanations. The PT is not giving it up.
In the Senate, uncertainty also hangs in the air. The Constitution, Justice and Citizenship Committee (CCJ) will be headed by the current president, Senator Davi Alcolumbre, a key campaigner for the re-elected president of the House, Rodrigo Pacheco. Vanderlan Cardoso (PSD-GO) will lead the powerful Committee on Economic Affairs (CAE), and Flávio Arns (PSB-PR) will head the Committee on Education, Culture and Sport (CE). Female senators are vying for control of some of these committees, as they were excluded from the Board.
There is also a dispute over the positions of president and rapporteur of the Joint Budget Committee (CMO), which is vitally important for a government that will need to constantly reallocate funds to meet its priorities. Starting in June, the CMO will analyze the proposed Budget Guidelines Law (LDO) and, by the end of the year, the proposed budget for 2024, which must be presented by August 31st. The Liberal Party (PL) wants the rapporteurship, and so does União Brasil. Lira will have to arbitrate the dispute between allies he wishes to unite in a federation.

In summary: Throughout February, Congress wasted time searching for the best schemes to wrest a few more chunks of power from Lula. Lula, the PT (Workers' Party), and their allies are resisting as best they can, but they know they will have to make concessions to secure the support of Congress, which, having lost it to Dilma, contributed to the parliamentary coup of 2016.
For the government-congress process to begin in March with some degree of security, both the issue of positions and the division of committees will have to be well-defined.