Lula nods and creates federal institute in Hugo Motta’s electoral stronghold
President Lula’s government sent to Congress, last Friday (2), the first bill of the year, which proposes the creation of the Federal Institute of Sertão Paraibano, based in Patos, electoral stronghold of the president of the Chamber of Deputies, Hugo Motta.
Six days after sending the proposal, Motta decided not to participate in the event organized by Palácio do Planalto to mark three years since the attacks of January 8, 2023, scheduled for this Thursday, in Brasília.
The project creates the Federal Institute of Sertão Paraibano from the dismemberment of the Federal Institute of Paraíba and defines Patos as the administrative headquarters of the rectory of the new institution. In the municipality, the deputy’s father, Nabor Wanderley (Republicans), was re-elected mayor in the first round in the 2024 municipal elections.
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In addition to commanding the city hall, Wanderley is trying to become a candidate for the Senate in 2026 on Lula’s ticket in the state. In Planalto, the president’s aides claim that the project meets a long-standing demand in the region and is technically viable.
Despite government signals, Motta chose not to participate in the ceremony on January 8th. Behind the scenes of the Chamber, the assessment is that the President of the House has adopted a cautious stance in relation to events of strong political symbolism organized by the Planalto, especially amid the tensions caused by the debate on the dosimetry of the sentences applied to those convicted of the coup acts and the expectation surrounding a possible presidential veto.
The text establishes that the creation of the new institute will be regulated by an act of the federal Executive Branch. Until consultation with the school community is carried out, the rector will be appointed on a temporary basis by the Ministry of Education, with a period of up to five years for the definitive consultation.
Absence days later
Motta’s absence was confirmed by his advisor, who reported that the deputy is outside Brasília and on parliamentary vacation. The president of the Chamber also did not participate in the event held last year, when the government promoted the second official ceremony in memory of the invasion of the headquarters of the Three Powers.
Conceived by Planalto as an institutional gesture to reaffirm the defense of democracy and unity between the Powers, this year’s act takes place at a sensitive moment in the relationship between the Executive and Congress. Motta’s allies claim that the absence should not be interpreted as a political gesture directed at the government and emphasize that there was no change in the agenda due to the ceremony.
Behind the scenes, the assessment is that the president of the Chamber must continue balancing between the government base and the opposition throughout 2026, in a political environment still marked by sensitive disputes and polarization.
