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Recent Scandals Involving the INSS Reveal Failures in Management and Challenge the Narrative of Protection for the Most Vulnerable of the Lula Government, Bringing to Light Financial and Political Impacts Still Little Debated in the National Scenario.
The allegations involving the National Institute of Social Security (INSS) have placed the Lula government at the center of yet another controversy, reigniting criticism over how the president deals with scandals and responsibilities.
According to journalist Daniel Pereira from Veja, President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva “fell into his own trap” by trying to absolve himself of responsibility in the episode that exposed multimillion-dollar fraud against retirees and pensioners of the INSS.
According to the columnist, Lula has a long history of diverting attention from his own management when the issue is corruption.
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He recalls that, during his first term, Lula faced the mensalão scandal, a scheme that involved buying parliamentary support through diverted public funds.
At the time, the case nearly resulted in an impeachment process, but Lula managed to remain in office.
Daniel Pereira notes that, even in the face of the gravity of the case, Lula has never acknowledged direct responsibility.
On the contrary, he has declared that he was betrayed by allies, distancing himself from the decision-making core.
Over time, and already out of the Planalto, Lula began to treat the episode as a political setup.
Lula and Political Appointments
Re-elected in 2006, Lula continued to use the strategy of political appointments within the public machine, according to the journalist.
One of the most emblematic examples was Petrobras, which became the epicenter of the so-called “petrolão”, revealed years later by Operation Lava Jato.
As Daniel Pereira reports, the case exposed the largest corruption scheme ever discovered in Brazil to that point.
Despite the investigations, the plea deals, and the recovery of billions of reais that were diverted, Lula insists on delegitimizing the operation, treating it as a judicial persecution campaign.
“There has never been any self-criticism on the part of the president, neither regarding the mensalão nor the petrolão,” emphasizes the journalist.
The “Us” vs “Them” Discourse
In Daniel Pereira’s view, Lula has maintained an effective rhetoric for many years, based on the dichotomy between “us,” the people, and “them,” the holders of economic power.
According to his assessment, this discourse was responsible for keeping part of the electoral base united and engaged, even in the face of allegations.
However, the columnist points out that the recent scandal involving the INSS may put an end to the effectiveness of this narrative.
The INSS Scandal and the Numbers That Worry
According to the journalist from Veja, Lula claims that the scams against retirees began during the Bolsonaro government and that his administration would have been responsible for halting the diversions.
However, the numbers tell a different story.
According to official data, the undue amounts deducted from beneficiaries increased from R$ 706 million in 2022, the last year of Bolsonaro, to R$ 2.6 billion in 2024, already under the current government.
“It’s an alarming increase, which dismantles the argument that the problem was inherited,” asserts Daniel Pereira.
The Role of the Ministry and Ommission
The journalist notes that if there had been a quick and effective response from the Ministry of Social Security, the impact could have been minimized.
He mentions that Carlos Lupi, the minister of the department and a long-time ally of Lula, was alerted about the problem back in 2023 but did not take immediate action.
This omission, for Daniel Pereira, constitutes a serious management error.
For him, it is contradictory that a government that built its image on protecting the poorest did not act with the necessary urgency in the face of such a delicate situation.
“Those who have always sworn to protect the most needy could not, under any circumstances, allow them to be harmed,” claims the columnist.
The Wear and Tear of the Narrative and the Public’s Reaction
According to Pereira, the president attempts to divert attention from direct responsibility by again using the discourse of persecution and the curse of inheritance, but the facts demonstrate that there was enough time and warning to act and prevent the escalation of harm.
The public’s reaction, according to the columnist, could also be a turning point for the government.
If previously the electorate tolerated diversions under the justification that the political project represented popular interests, now there seems to be less willingness to accept vague explanations or the transfer of blame.
Daniel Pereira concludes that Lula may have reached the limit of the discursive shield that has sustained his leadership for decades.
The INSS scandal, by directly affecting one of the most vulnerable segments of society, strikes at the heart of lulism: the symbolic commitment to the poor.
Although he still has a solid support base and maintains significant political influence, Lula now faces wear and tear that is harder to overcome, as this is a crisis with concrete impacts on the daily lives of millions of Brazilians.
The episode also reignites a broader debate about how governments deal with corruption scandals and what the limit is between political narrative and administrative responsibility.
It remains to be seen whether the president will adopt a stance of confronting the problem with transparency, or if he will continue to rely on discourses that, according to the journalist, no longer find the same receptivity as before.
Do you believe that the INSS scandal could permanently damage Lula’s image among his most loyal voters? Comment below and join the discussion!
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