Brazilian Presidential Candidates Call for Parliamentary Amendment Reform Without Specific Plans

Most leading candidates for the 2026 Brazilian presidential election agree on the need to reform the system of parliamentary amendments, though they have failed to provide detailed plans on how to implement these changes. Candidates including President Lula, former governors Ronaldo Caiado and Romeu Zema, and Renan Santos have criticized the power of senators and deputies over these funds, arguing that the executive branch has lost its protagonism. These amendments allow congressists to direct money to their local bases for projects that increase their political capital. The current budget allocates approximately 61 billion reais to these resources, with 37.8 billion reais being mandatory amendments that the executive must pay. In practice, these funds often serve as bargaining chips between the presidency and Congress. President Lula has stated that he intends to reclaim control over part of this funding in a fourth term, arguing that the president cannot lose key prerogatives. However, records show that Lula has utilized these amendments to pass priority projects, paying nearly 32.5 billion reais between January and June 2026, which is over 30 percent higher than the same period in 2022. Senator Flávio Bolsonaro has also described the values of these amendments as stratospheric and suggested they be reduced. His plan focuses on aligning funds with the federal government's Pluriannual Plan and increasing transparency, though he has not listed objective actions to achieve this. Ronaldo Caiado has argued that the presidential system cannot coexist with the fragmented interests of 594 different government plans.