President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva meets this Wednesday (26) with Senate president Davi Alcolumbre (União Brasil-AP) and Chamber of Deputies speaker Hugo Motta (Republicanos-PB) to try to unblock bills the government wants approved this year, according to G1. The meeting targets the week of August 31 to September 4, the only scheduled window of concentrated voting sessions in Congress before the October elections. Congress is not in recess, but parliamentary activity has nearly stopped since the campaign began.

In the Senate, the Planalto wants progress on a constitutional amendment to end the 6x1 schedule (six days of work for one day off) and reduce working hours, a public security amendment, and a bill creating a legal framework for critical minerals and rare earths. According to G1, the Constitution and Justice Committee chairman, Otto Alencar (PSD-BA), agreed with Alcolumbre that senator Omar Aziz (PSD-AM) will be the rapporteur for the 6x1 amendment, while Rogério Carvalho (PT-SE) will handle the security one. The working-hours proposal passed the Chamber in May and has been stuck in the Senate since, CNN Brasil reported, adding that after a meeting with Lula on the 14th, Alcolumbre signaled the text would only move in November.

"Blouses tax" races against the clock

In the Chamber, the priority is the provisional measure that scrapped the "taxa das blusinhas" (blouses tax), a 20% import levy on international purchases of up to US$ 50. In Brazil, a provisional measure is an executive order that takes effect immediately but needs congressional approval. MP 1.357/2026 expires on September 8 if not voted, according to Congresso em Foco and InfoMoney. The joint committee tasked with reviewing the text is expected to be installed on September 1, after two postponements, and still has no chair or rapporteur, G1 reported.

Retail business groups are lobbying for the measure to lapse, which would bring the tax back. Speaking to InfoMoney, deputy Luiz Gastão (PSD-CE), a member of the measure's working group, defended the levy. "I am in favor of bringing the tax back. If we do not control the entry of tax-free products into Brazil, several retail sectors, especially textiles, will be hurt, and that could trigger a wave of bankruptcies in the country," he said.

Lula also wants the Chamber to vote on a bill authorizing the use of surplus oil revenue to curb gasoline and diesel price increases, according to G1. Announcing the meeting on Thursday (20) at a campaign rally in Rio Grande do Norte, Lula tied the agenda to his reelection bid. "Hugo, Alcolumbre and I will decide on Wednesday to end the blouses tax," he said, as quoted by Congresso em Foco. "I want you to vote for our deputies so we can approve the end of the 6x1 schedule, end the blouses tax, and let women buy whatever they want for 50 dollars."

Relations with Alcolumbre

The meeting follows months of tension between Lula and Alcolumbre since the Senate rejected the nomination of Solicitor General Jorge Messias to the Supreme Federal Court, Brazil's top court. In an interview with TV Record on Sunday (23), Lula called the Senate president a "friend," G1 reported. After meeting Lula on the 14th, Alcolumbre described the dialogue as "mature, republican and frank," according to CNN Brasil.