Alcolumbre Sets Congress Vote Thursday on Lula’s Environmental Licensing Vetoes

Overview

• A joint session of the Chamber and Senate is scheduled for Thursday at 10 a.m. to decide vetoes to the licensing law and to other measures, including Propag, Bolsa Família payment provisions and pay raises for DF police and firefighters.
• Right-wing leaders, the Centrão and the farm caucus signal they will seek to overturn key vetoes to revive faster approvals such as self-declaration for medium-impact projects, though negotiators have floated keeping some presidential blocks in place.
• The government defends the 63 vetoes as necessary to correct constitutional flaws and prevent rollback, and it is preparing a complementary bill plus a provisional measure establishing a Special Environmental License (LAE).
• Environment Minister Marina Silva says monophase licensing will not occur and describes licensing as the backbone of environmental protection, outlining a multi-stage process to retain legal safeguards.
• The showdown follows a canceled October vote and unfolds under political friction tied to Jorge Messias’s STF nomination, which displeased Alcolumbre, who nonetheless denies retaliatory moves and set a CCJ hearing for December 10.