BRAZIL · POLITICS
Brazil’s Workers’ Party (PT), the party of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, backed his government’s fiscal package on Friday 13 November 2026 while demanding more posts in his next cabinet and lower interest rates. Its national directorate, the party’s top decision body between congresses, approved the resolution at a meeting after Lula beat conservative Flávio Bolsonaro in the 25 October runoff.
For US investors the message is that Lula’s own party wants cheaper money, even as the central bank’s benchmark Selic rate stands at 13.75% a year. That tension will shape how fast Brazilian borrowing costs can fall.
Key Facts
- Vote The PT’s national directorate approved a resolution backing the government’s fiscal package on Friday 13 November 2026.
- Rates The text calls the Selic, the central bank’s benchmark rate, the biggest obstacle to growth and income policies.
- Posts Members asked for more government posts, including the Cities Ministry, which the centrist MDB party held before.
- Dissent Several leaders complained they were not consulted before the economic team announced the package.
- Prediction markets Polymarket traders price a December Selic hold at 88% (US$77,312 traded, 9:35 p.m. ET, 13 November).
- Power Index Brazil ranks 1st of 14 in The Rio Times Latin America Power Index, with 74.2 points (November 2026 edition).
What Did the Party Decide?
The directorate backed the economic team’s measures even though several leaders said in speeches that nobody had consulted them. Anyone who accuses the government of an “electoral swindle” (estelionato eleitoral) acts in bad faith, the resolution says.
Deputy Lindbergh Farias, a PT lawmaker from Rio de Janeiro state, called it absurd that party leaders were not told before the announcement. Party president Edinho Silva said criticism of the package rests on disinformation.
Why Is the Party Attacking the Central Bank?
The resolution says the benchmark interest rate is the biggest obstacle to growth and income policies, and that household debt eats into disposable income. In its words, “there is no justification for the Central Bank’s excessive conservatism”.
The Selic stands at 13.75% a year, and the central bank’s rate-setting committee, Copom, next meets on 8 and 9 December 2026. Lower rates would ease the state’s debt bill and household budgets, but they would also narrow the yield that draws foreign money to Brazilian bonds.
What Prediction Markets Say
On Polymarket, a crypto-based prediction market, traders price “no change” in the December Selic decision at 88.0%, a 25-basis-point cut at 7.3% and a 25-basis-point rise at 1.3%, with US$77,312 traded across all outcomes (as of 9:35 p.m. ET, 13 November 2026). These prices are bets, not polls, and a price is not a forecast.
Why we show this: prediction markets turn real-money bets into a live probability that moves within minutes of the news, which is why investors, campaigns and newsrooms in the United States now follow them closely. We show them next to polls and official results, never instead of them.
Posts, Taxes and the Criminal Age
Directorate members asked the party to take more space in strategic areas of government, including the Cities Ministry, which the MDB, a centrist party, held in the previous government. They also argued that public accounts should be balanced by taxing the rich more, for example by ending tax exemptions on LCI and LCA, popular real-estate and agribusiness credit notes.
Silva said the measures have nothing to do with cutting social programmes. He added that the PT opposes lowering the age of criminal responsibility, which contrasts with Lula’s campaign position that under-16s accused of heinous crimes should answer as adults.
What It Means for You
Investors in Brazilian bonds or the real face a government whose own party wants cheaper money while the central bank, which sets the Selic independently, keeps rates high. The resolution is a political demand, not a decision.
Companies planning around Brazilian credit costs should watch the 9 December Copom decision. The party’s text is political pressure, not a change in policy.
What Is Not Known
The resolution’s full text and the vote count have not been published, and Lula has not said which posts the party will receive. The size and final content of the fiscal package are not confirmed here.
Frequently Asked Questions
Did the PT back Lula’s fiscal package?
Yes. The party’s national directorate approved a resolution of support on Friday 13 November 2026, although several leaders said they were not consulted.
What is the Selic rate?
The Selic is Brazil’s benchmark interest rate, set by the central bank’s Copom committee. It stands at 13.75% a year.
When is the next Copom decision?
Copom meets on 8 and 9 December 2026, with the decision announced on the second day. Traders on Polymarket price a hold at 88.0%.
Sources
Workers’ Party (PT) national directorate resolution, 13 Nov 2026 · Central Bank of Brazil, Copom calendar and Selic series · Polymarket, Bank of Brazil decision in December market
This article was produced by The Rio Times’ automated AI newsroom. Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Publisher and Editor-in-Chief. The Rio Times also runs Ask Rio Times, which answers from 100,000+ of our own articles, the daily Latin America Power Map, and prediction-market odds on elections and markets.. How we use AI · Report an error
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