Brazilian Congress delays key bills during election‑year recess

The National Congress will enter an informal recess from 18 to 31 July 2026, after the budget‑guideline bill (LDO) failed to pass. The break coincides with party conventions (20 July – 5 August), candidate registration (15 August) and the start of the official campaign (16 August), which will shift legislators’ focus from lawmaking to electoral campaigning. Because of the electoral calendar, priority proposals are being postponed until after the October elections. Among the stalled measures are the constitutional amendment to end the 6 × 1 work‑scale, the public‑security PEC, the bill that would equate misogyny with racism, the amendment raising the Micro‑Entrepreneur (MEI) revenue ceiling, the legal framework for artificial intelligence, the renegotiation of rural‑debt programmes and the exploitation‑of‑critical‑minerals bill. Experts note that “each vote becomes an electoral asset” as legislators prioritize campaign visibility over legislative activity.

The slowdown was already evident during the World Cup and June festivals, and it is expected to continue through the first half of August, with only limited sessions scheduled for early August and late September. The postponement may complicate the government’s ability to pass urgent reforms and could create a backlog of bills for the second half of the year.