Lula Calls for Scrapping Brazil’s US$955 Million Public Campaign Fund
BRAZIL · ELECTIONS
Key Facts
- —The country Brazil, Latin America’s largest democracy, holds the first round of its presidential, congressional and state elections on Sunday 4 October.
- —Why it matters Companies have been barred from funding Brazilian campaigns since 2015, so parties run largely on public money. This year’s pot holds nearly R$5 billion (about US$955 million).
- —What happened In a television interview aired on Sunday 27 September, President Lula said the public campaign fund should be abolished to end what he called “political promiscuity”.
- —Who is involved Lula’s own Workers’ Party (PT) receives about R$615 million (about US$118 million), second only to the Liberal Party (PL) of his rival, Flávio Bolsonaro.
- —What it means for you Nothing changes for this election. Ending the fund would need Congress to change the law, and Lula named no bill or timetable.
- —Still open What would pay for campaigns instead, and whether Lula would press the idea if he wins a fourth term.
A week before Brazil votes, President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has turned on the public electoral fund that pays for most of the country’s campaigns. He said it should be scrapped as part of a wider political reform.
He made the remarks in an interview with Canal Livre, a Sunday-night interview programme on the Band television network, aired on 27 September. Estadão and CNN Brasil both reported the comments.
What Lula said
According to Estadão, Lula said Brazil must end “a generalised promiscuity in politics”. He added that a “dignified” reform would make politics “healthy again” for Brazilians.
CNN Brasil quoted him saying most parties had become “a club for financing campaigns”. In his words, some groups receive party and campaign money, and “it is not always controlled” how they spend it.
Lula also said he had supported creating the funds. The current model, together with the so-called secret budget of congressional spending amendments, had “rotted politics”, CNN Brasil reported.
He further claimed that Congress controls “50 percent of the federal budget”. He did not say how he measured that figure.
How the fund works
The Special Campaign Financing Fund, known as the electoral fund, was created by Congress in 2017 to replace banned company donations. The Superior Electoral Court (TSE), which runs Brazil’s elections, shares it out mainly by each party’s strength in Congress.
For 2026 the 30 registered parties share nearly R$5 billion (about US$955 million), according to Agência Senado, the Senate’s news service. The PL leads with about R$881 million (about US$170 million), ahead of Lula’s PT. The Rio Times covered how the court released the money in August.
Why it lands now
The remarks put Lula at odds with the party system that funds his own campaign. CNN Brasil noted that he was repeating an argument he had made before.
In the same interview Lula also proposed changing how Supreme Court justices are chosen, a separate idea covered in Brazil’s Lula Says Presidents Should Not Pick Supreme Court Justices Alone.
What Is Not Yet Known
Lula did not say what would replace public money. He did not say whether he wants company donations back, which the Supreme Court struck down in 2015.
No bill has been presented, and it is unclear whether the PT or its allies in Congress back the idea. All 30 registered parties, across the spectrum, receive money from it.
The basis for his “50 percent of the budget” claim is also unclear, and it has not been checked against official budget figures.
Sources: Estadão, 27 September 2026 (also carried by InfoMoney); CNN Brasil, 27 September 2026; Agência Senado, 8 June 2026.
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