Lula tries new model of coordination with Congress

Last month, President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) inaugurated an innovative approach in articulating his government with Congress. Through informal night meetings at Palácio da Alvorada, he seeks to establish a more effective dynamic with the leaders of his parliamentary base, personally taking over the negotiations. Faced with a series of failures on the part of Planalto’s organizers, Lula seeks to create direct channels of communication with deputies and senators to avoid controversies and speed up the negotiation and decision-making process.

Analysts consulted by People’s Gazette suggest that the friendly gestures and displays of prestige at these meetings aim to reactivate dialogue between the Executive and the Legislative, after the series of conflicts in 2023.

Lula’s happy hours also aim to prevent the opposition in Congress from gaining even more space on the voting agenda and in strategic positions, while trying to contain the growing independence of parliamentarians, especially in relation to the Union Budget.

After initial meetings with presidents and leaders of the Chamber on February 22 and the Senate last Tuesday (2), Lula is already talking about a “new phase” for the government. During the ceremony to present the results of the New PAC Soluções on Thursday (7), with forecast investments of R$65.2 billion across the country, he highlighted this impression of a new moment for his management.

Lula highlighted the efforts in the first 13 months to “put the house in order” and announced a series of works and investments for the “new phase”. The president also mentioned the increase in Union revenue in January and indicated the need to negotiate with Congress the possibility of expanding investments to take advantage of this unexpected gain.

For Marcus Deois, director of the consultancy Ethics Intelligence Policy, it is urgent for Lula to re-establish a productive dialogue between Planalto and Congress in the face of persistent polarization in the country. However, he emphasizes that it is premature to say whether recent coordination efforts indicate the beginning of a “new phase” of government. According to Deois, a more consistent and routine approach will be necessary to achieve an effective change in day-to-day relations between Parliament and Planalto.

Lula bets on personal relationships to improve the political environment

This proposed redirection occurs at a time when the PT administration is facing a drop in popular approval ratings and the opposition is mobilizing to create obstacles for the president, especially in a year of municipal elections considered crucial for the political scenario in 2026.

Professor Eduardo Galvão, a specialist in public policies and institutional relations, highlights that the adoption of happy hours by Lula reflects the recognition of the role of interpersonal relationships in politics, being an effort to adapt communication and negotiation strategies to a dynamic context.

The Ibmec-DF professor observes that the get-together strategy is old, but powerful in creating an environment conducive to more human interactions between political leaders. He hopes that these meetings will become negotiation tools, allowing sensitive issues to be addressed in a less confrontational way.

“Whether the new approach will lead to a new phase of government, only time will tell. In any case, it is undeniable that it represents an attempt at political engagement, with the potential to strengthen alliances and facilitate governance”, he highlighted.

In the meeting at the official residence with allied senators and the president of the Senate, Rodrigo Pacheco (PSD-MG), it was clear that the main objective is to invest in the spirit of fraternization and greater proximity between the actors, to strengthen personal relationships.

“At happy hour, we talk about everything,” said the Minister of Institutional Relations, Alexandre Padilha, at the whiskey-fueled occasion, without forgetting to list the government’s priorities for the year, such as the re-encumbrance of payroll in 17 sectors.

Lula took the opportunity, as he did in the previous informal meeting, with deputies in Alvorada, to thank Congress for the approval of the economic agenda in 2023, with the fiscal framework and tax reform, and to praise investments.

The only request that the Chief Executive heard came from Senator Eliziane Gama (PSD-MA). She demanded a meeting with the Senate’s women’s bench and heard that a dinner should be scheduled. She is trying to build an alternative candidacy to succeed Pacheco and seeks the unlikely support of Lula, who has already committed to supporting Davi Alcolumbre (União Brasil-AP). Present at the meeting, Alcolumbre presented himself as a name capable of guaranteeing votes on issues without easy consensus, bridging the gap between senators with adverse opinions.

In general, Lula noticed criticism from senators that he has paid more attention to relations with representatives of the Chamber. He promised more conversations, but avoided setting dates for new meetings.

Despite Lira’s demands, Padilha remains minister

During the happy hour with deputies, Lula also committed to becoming closer to congressmen this year, but without institutionalizing contacts.

In the first test of this strategy, Lula did not show that he will remove minister Alexandre Padilha from the post of main coordinator of the Palace, an old demand of Lira. The atmosphere was relaxed among ministers and parliamentarians, with the exception of Padilha and Lira, who have barely spoken to each other since the end of the year. The noise in the relationship between Congress and Planalto increased in December, with complaints from parliamentarians about blocking the release of amendments.

The president of the Chamber had already advised Lula in his last meeting with him, before Carnival, to have a routine of rounds of informal meetings with Congress representatives as a way of bringing them closer to the Planalto.

With revenue rising, political articulation seems to gain time to negotiate with leaders. Even so, shortly after the happy hour with Chamber leaders, Lula authorized the payment of R$20.5 billion in amendments before municipal elections and forwarded changes to the Provisional Measure (MP) that confronts different Congress decisions.

The challenges for the new articulation model are many and have already gained new complications, even after the get-togethers at Alvorada. In defeat for Lula, the opposition won central committees of the Chamber this week, with allies of former president Jair Bolsonaro (PL) who will command the most coveted committees and could disrupt the government’s plans.