Lula Secures Pact to Rush Popular Bills Through Congress Before Final Voting Window

Overview

• Lula met with Chamber president Hugo Motta and Senate president Davi Alcolumbre and announced a deal Wednesday to advance a package of high‑visibility measures next week, including the MP to end the “taxa das blusinhas,” the PEC to end the 6x1 work schedule, a public security PEC, a minerals/rare‑earths bill, and the Redata data‑center incentives.
• Allies say the fast‑track plan is meant to provide campaign momentum as investigations into the president’s son, Fábio Luís Lula da Silva (Lulinha), increase reputational pressure on Lula.
• Opposition and Flávio Bolsonaro allies are organizing meetings with Motta and Alcolumbre to try to block, slow or amend the measures and have filed amendments and emendations to several texts to change their scope.
• Recent polls and digital metrics show a highly competitive race: a Quaest survey in Mato Grosso do Sul gave Flávio 33% to Lula’s 27% in first‑round scenarios while a Real Time Big Data study in Minas Gerais put Lula at 46% and Flávio at 44% in a second‑round matchup, and social‑media analysis finds Flávio leads in average interactions per post while Lula dominates total online mentions.
• With next week the last effort‑concentrado before the election, the plan forces an immediate choice for voters and lawmakers and could reshape campaign messaging in the three biggest electorates — São Paulo, Minas Gerais and Rio de Janeiro — that together determine over 40% of the vote.