During a week of defeat in Congress, the government released R$ 1,5 billion in amendments.
The biggest tax release of the year occurred on the eve of the overturning of the IOF decree; Centrão [a political bloc in Brazil] is exerting pressure and already orchestrating a scenario without Lula in 2026.
247 - In the week that it was defeated in the National Congress, the government of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) committed more than R$ 1,5 billion in parliamentary amendments. This activity, recorded amidst the rejection of the decree that readjusted the Tax on Financial Operations (IOF), was revealed by data from the Integrated Planning and Budget System (Siop) and reported by national media outlets.
The largest release of funds this year occurred just before the vote that annulled the Executive's decree: on Tuesday, June 24th, R$ 831 million was committed in a single day—a record amount for 2025. In total, commitments to parliamentary amendments since January have already exceeded R$ 2,3 billion. However, only about R$ 465 million has actually been paid, which has generated strong discontent among deputies and senators from both the government and opposition.
Amendments as a tool for pressure
The commitment, which represents the budgetary reserve for future execution of funds, has been used by parliamentarians as a bargaining chip against the government. Demands for greater speed in the disbursements have intensified in recent weeks, and the partial release, without full execution, fuels criticism of the Presidential Palace.
Leaders of the Centrão (center-right bloc) see the amendment crisis as an opportunity to distance themselves from the government and prepare the ground for 2026. Most center-right parties no longer hide their intention not to support Lula in a possible reelection attempt. The issue was exploited by parliamentarians as a way to signal dissatisfaction and test the limits of the Planalto's (presidential palace) political maneuvering.
The most symbolic episode of the tension between the Executive and Legislative branches was the annulment of the decree that raised IOF rates. The urgency for consideration of the draft legislative decree (PDL) was approved on Tuesday (17), with the concrete threat that the merits would be considered on the same day. The message from the Chamber was clear: there was dissatisfaction with the government's fiscal policy and with the handling of the amendments.
Even with the efforts of the Minister of Institutional Relations, Gleisi Hoffmann, who sought to contain the damage and publicly praised the Speaker of the House, Deputy Hugo Motta (Republicanos-PB), the reaction from the Legislature was harsh. Motta, surprising the government, put the PDL (Proposed Legislative Decree) to a vote on the 25th. The result was 383 votes to overturn the IOF (Tax on Financial Operations) increase against only 98 to maintain it. The Senate repeated the decision immediately afterward, and the overturning was enacted on the 26th.
Now, President Lula is awaiting an opinion from the Attorney General's Office (AGU) regarding the possibility of taking the matter to the Supreme Federal Court (STF) against the Congressional decision.
(With information from the O Tempo portal)
