Economy and Congress, Lula’s main challenges in his first hundred days of government in Brazil

The third presidential term of Lula da Silva it started last January in a turbulent way. Thousands of ultra-right supporters of former president Jair Bolsonaro violently stormed the Brazilian government headquarters, marking the left-wing leader’s return to power.

“There are not two Brazilians, the Brazil of those who voted for me and the Brazil of those who voted for another candidate. We are a nation,” the left-wing leader insisted yesterday in an article in Brazilian Post in which he reflected on his first hundred days of government, supportedaccording to recent research, for 38% of Brazilianssix points more than Bolsonaro had in the same period, but less than the support he achieved in his first two mandates.

During that time, Lula managed to reduce the tension. He soon carried out a purge in the military and police apparatus, “ripping apart” those institutions. His hand did not tremble to get rid of the already former commander of the land army Julio César Arruda.

Three months later, the historic event is not at the center of public debate, even after Bolsonaro’s return to Brazil. march of Economy is a favorite topic of social gatherings. The conflict between the president and the autonomous Central Bank of Brazil is highlighted over the 13.75 percent interest rate that this institution maintains to curb inflation, which, according to the government’s complaint, harms job creation and the country’s growth. According to political analysts, the schism affects foreign investments. According to the IMF, the country will achieve barely 1.2 percent growth this year.

Lula has indeed taken decisive steps to restore the social assistance program, which is his great “obsession”. He ordered the restart of the Bolsa Família program of financial assistance to the poorest Brazilians, as well as the “My House, My Life” housing plan. The left-wing leader pointed out that there were many “inherited problems” but said that “one hundred days was enough to reverse the terrible scenario”.

His main problem is that these presidential decrees will expire in a few weeks if Congress does not approve the measures, which have not yet been evaluated by parliamentarians. It’s not easy for Lula. Bolsonarismo has a first majority in both houses, progressivism is a minority, and the left-wing president bases his rule on a “big block” of center-right lawmakers who support his administration. The current gridlock in Congress is motivated, in part, by a dispute between the presidents of the House of Representatives and the Senate over control of the legislative agenda, but, even if this situation is resolved, Lula will have to fight against all odds to approve any legislation.

Faced with problems at home, the president is trying to raise the country’s international reputation. He soon traveled to Argentina and the US, two key countries with which relations suffered during Bolsonaro’s tenure, and travel this week to the cinema, Brazil’s largest trading partner and which the president placed at the center of his foreign policy.

Lula signed an agreement with Beijing to use their currencies in bilateral transactions, avoiding the dollar, which drew criticism in Washington. His words about the war in Ukraine also did not meet with approval. The Brazilian president said that Kiev should forget about keeping Crimea as a base for negotiations. He will talk about the war this Friday at a meeting with Xi Jinping. Lula wants his country to be instrumental in resolving the conflict, balancing between the US and Russia, a position that is much harder to maintain now than it was 20 years ago.