Lula receives Pacheco and Senate leaders to discuss priority issues

President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) received the President of the Senate, Rodrigo Pacheco (PSD-MG), and party leaders at the Palácio da Alvorada on Tuesday night (5) for a get-together. The meeting lasted about two hours. On social media, the PT member stated that he spoke with guests about this year’s priority agendas.

“Today, I received at Alvorada the president of the Senate, Rodrigo Pacheco, leaders of the House and government ministers. We talked about Brazil and the government’s legislative agenda for this year,” said Lula. The meeting would have been organized to improve coordination between the Executive and Senate leaders.

Last month, the president received the president of the Chamber, Arthur Lira (PP-AL), and leaders of the House also with the aim of aligning the priority agendas amid tensions and Congress’s dissatisfaction with the government’s articulation. The president’s gesture to Lira would have generated dissatisfaction among senators, who demand greater rapprochement with the government.

However, the Minister of the Institutional Relations Secretariat, Alexandre Padilha, denied any problem in the relationship between the government and the Senate. According to Padilha, the meeting was designed to thank the senators for “what was built in the Senate last year”.

“I’ve never heard that [reclamação dos senadores]. The relationship with the Senate is the best possible. Let’s demonstrate this once again. The other thing is the demands of the senators”, said the minister upon arriving at Alvorada.

The government must face impasses in votes in Congress in the first half of the year, such as the maintenance of payroll tax relief for municipalities in provisional measure 1,202/2023. Last week, Pacheco warned the government that it is necessary to take the initiative away from the MP, just as was done with the re-encumbrance of the 17 sectors of the economy. After pressure from parliamentarians and municipalities, the government must propose changes on the issue through a bill.

In addition to Padilha, ministers Fernando Haddad (Finance), Paulo Pimenta (Communication Secretariat) and Rui Costa (Civil House) also participated in the event. Among the senators present were Randolfe Rodrigues (No party-AP), Veneziano Vital do Rêgo (MDB-PB), Renan Calheiros (MDB-AL), Eliziane Gama (PSD-MA), Efraim Filho (União-PB), Beto Faro (PT-PA), Omar Aziz (PSD-AM), Weverton Rocha (PDT-MA), Marcelo Castro (MDB-PI) and Davi Alcolumbre (União-AP).