Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said Thursday (Dec. 18) he will veto the piece of legislation known as Dosimetry Bill, which would reduce the sentences of those convicted for the anti-democratic riots on January 8, 2023, and for attempting a coup d’état.

“People who committed crimes against the Brazilian democracy will have to pay. The trial isn’t even over – people are still being convicted – and folks are already deciding to reduce sentences. I’d like to tell you that, with all due respect to the National Congress, when it reaches my desk, I will veto it. This is no secret to anyone,” he stated.

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“Congress has the right to do things, I have my right to veto, then they have their right to overturn my veto or not. That’s how the game works,” he added in an interview with the press at the Planalto presidential palace.

The president also argued it is necessary to “finish this process” and also investigate those who financed the coup attempts. 

“We need to take what happened on January 8, 2023, very seriously, and there are people who want us to forget, but we cannot forget. Because if democracy forgets how important it is to a nation, we end up losing the game,” he said.

On Wednesday (17), in a roll call vote, the Senate approved the bill with 48 votes in favor and 25 against. The bill now goes to the president for approval.

The piece of legislation stipulates that crimes against the democratic rule of law and coup d’état, when committed in the same context, should incur the most severe penalty rather than the sum of both penalties.

The focus of the bill is a change in the calculation of penalties, “setting the minimum and maximum penalties for each type of crime, as well as the general method of calculating penalties [hence “dosimetry”], also reducing the time required for convicts to serve their sentence in jail before moving to an open regime.”

The changes could benefit defendants such as former President Jair Bolsonaro, as well as military personnel who participated in the coup plot and were convicted by the Supreme Court.

On Thursday, Lula welcomed journalists for breakfast at the presidential palace, followed by a press conference.

President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said on Wednesday (Dec. 17) that the government needs to find the “right narrative” to tell the Brazilian people about what has happened in the country in recent years. This morning, the president chaired the last ministerial meeting of 2025 at the official residence of Granja do Torto in Brasília.

In his view, the country is in a “largely favorable” situation, although, he went on to argue, this does not appear to be reflected as strongly as it should be in public opinion polls due to the political polarization faced by the nation. Lula stated that his team’s discourse needs to be defined for next year’s elections.

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“The election year will be the year of truth. In other words, we have to create the idea of a moment of truth to show who is who in this country, who does what in this country, what happened before us, and what happens when we come to power,” he told his ministers, citing initiatives in various areas, such as economy and social inclusion.

“We need to let the people know what happened in this country. I have the impression that the people still don’t know. I have the impression that we still haven’t come up with the right narrative to let the people know how to assess the things that happened in this country,” he added.

Lula said he will accept the resignation of ministers who want to run for office or seek reelection. In the 2026 election, a new president will be chosen – as well as governors, senators, plus federal, state, and district representatives.

The president also highlighted his team’s ability to negotiate measures of interest to the government in Congress – such as income tax exemptions and tax reform. In his opinion, the country is experiencing a “unique moment” from an economic point of view, partly due to the increased investment and financing capacity of public banks.

President Lula reaffirmed his policy, stating that money needs to circulate in the hands of the people. “We need to do much more, because my theory is that a little money in the hands of the people solves the problem. There is no macroeconomics, there is no exchange rate. If there is money in the hands of the people, our problem is solved – the problem of industrialization, consumption, agriculture, and inflation is solved,” he argued.

“We have ended the invisibility of the poor people of this country. We have ended the invisibility of a people who were only recognized during election season,” he went on to say.

Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said Monday (Dec. 15) that the work of the government and the quality of national production have led to the opening of over 500 international markets for Brazilian agricultural products from 2023 to 2025. “The success of what’s happening in Brazil comes as a result of the lessons we’ve learned over many years,” he stated.

He attended the inauguration of the Brasília headquarters of ApexBrasil – Brazil’s promotion agency for international trade. The event also celebrated the opening of these new markets, which have so far resulted in USD 3.4 billion in exports.

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This commercial expansion is spearheaded by the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock, with the participation of ApexBrasil, the Ministry of Foreign Relations, and the Ministry of Industry, Trade, and Services, in association with the private sector.

“Here’s what’s happening in Brazil today – we produce to meet the domestic market, and we’ve been producing so well that we’re now able to meet the needs of the international market. This is the most perfect thing that could happen,” the president said.

The president praised the work of ministers and authorities involved and said he envisions even further expansion. Next year, for instance, he is expected to attend the Hannover Messe in Germany, one of the world’s leading industrial innovation and technology fairs.

The Brazilian leader will also travel to South Korea, where he plans to explore partnerships in the cosmetics sector, and to India, where, he says, there is potential in defense, pharmaceuticals, and agricultural technology.

Potential

Located in over 80 countries, the new markets are estimated to have export potential of more than USD 37.5 billion a year, as per official figures. Each country may have several markets for different types of products – chief among them are meat, cotton, fruit, and fish.

In the view of Agriculture Minister Carlos Fávaro, the “historic achievement” of commercial expansion is the result of good Brazilian diplomacy and the nation’s production capacity. He also recalled that, in 2025, Brazil received certification as a foot-and-mouth disease–free country.

“For 72 years, Brazil fought against this disease. And the world now recognizes the healthiness of Brazilian products and the country’s ability to produce more and more with guaranteed quality,” he pointed out.

Trade promotion

According to ApexBrasil, from 2023 to 2025, the joint effort between the agency, the Ministry of Agriculture, and the Foreign Ministry resulted in more than 170 international initiatives across 42 countries, totaling USD 18 billion in projected business and serving over 3 thousand Brazilian companies. During this period, 19 official presidential missions and five vice-presidential missions were carried out.

The president of ApexBrasil, Jorge Viana, also spoke about the importance of the partnership with the private sector.

“Apex has 52 agreements with 52 sectors of the Brazilian economy [for participation in events abroad]. These are fifty-fifty agreements, with Apex providing half the money and the organizations providing the other half. Why? So that Brazil can make its presence felt around the world. Events amount to close to a thousand each year,” he said.

Officially created in 2003 – during President Lula’s first term, which ended in October 2025 – ApexBrasil registered 20,754 companies supported during the year, 66 percent of which were micro, small, and medium-sized, with a special focus on the North and Northeast regions, as part of a strategy to decentralize trade promotion activities.

Brazil’s Vice-President and Minister of Industry Geraldo Alckmin said that Brazil is expected to break its export record this year. “Even with slower global growth and lower prices, we are expected to break a record of USD 345 billion in exports and USD 629 billion in trade flow,” he said.

The Brazilian government announced on Wednesday (Dec. 10) that 70.8 percent of the BRL 1.3 trillion allocated to the New Growth Acceleration Program (PAC) for 2023 to 2026 has already been spent. BRL 944.8 billion has been invested through August of this year in various projects and equipment throughout the country.

At a ceremony at the Planalto presidential palace, President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said that many people thought it was “humanly impossible” to complete this volume of investment. He urged mayors and governors to move forward with the projects and said that it is the role of the state to mobilize resources for initiatives that reach the periphery and the poorest.

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“Now, this last part is passing the investment ball to mayors and governors, and we hope that our bureaucracy, which will make the investment, will not take too long,” he said, noting that the selection of the projects that received funds was made together with federal entities.

With an estimated BRL 1.7 trillion in public and private investments, the New PAC was launched in August 2023 by President Lula. Of the total amount, BRL 1.3 trillion is expected to be invested by 2026, with the remainder to be disbursed after that date.