Brazil’s Congress grows stronger than the presidency

Brazil is bucking a global trend of executive power grabs, as its Congress has amassed more power than the presidency over the past decade. According to Hindustan Times, lawmakers now control 25% of discretionary federal spending, up from 2% in 2015. This shift began after the impeachment of President Dilma Rousseff in 2016 and continued under weak successors. Today, the budget must include funds for congressional amendments, which are indexed to revenue growth and lack transparency.

The upcoming October 4 general election pits left-wing incumbent Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, 80, against Flavio Bolsonaro, 44, son of former President Jair Bolsonaro. All 513 lower house seats and two-thirds of the Senate are up for election. Despite a polarised race, the Centrao bloc, holding 46% of outgoing seats, has declared neutrality. A record 87% of lower house members are seeking re-election.

Congress's budget control has weakened the executive's bargaining power. In April, the Senate rejected Lula's Supreme Court nominee for the first time in over a century. Analysts Marcos Mendes and Helio Tollini note that in most OECD countries, lawmakers control only about 1% of discretionary spending, far less than in Brazil.