Brazil's next president to inherit many institutional vacancies
The winner of the election will have significant power over key bodies due to numerous unfilled posts.
AI-assisted coverage comparison, editor-supervised · How this was made
Brazil's next president to inherit many institutional vacancies
Photograph: The Star Kuala Lumpur (embedded from source)
What this story says
- Brazil's next president will inherit numerous vacancies in powerful institutions like the Supreme Court and central bank.
- The incoming leader could gain significant influence over monetary policy, financial markets, and constitutional interpretation.
- Congress has increasingly used confirmation processes as political leverage, delaying nominations and reducing executive power.
- The central bank has had two board seats vacant since January, a record length of time.
Who covered it
Percentages are shares of the 6 outlets carrying a published leaning rating. Coverage measured .
Trust
70/100
Craft
77/100
Hype
20/100
6 sources · methodology
Thin on the left so far
None of the 6 outlets with a published leaning rating that ran this story are rated left.
This story is still being watched, so it is a count and not yet a finding. Coverage keeps arriving for hours after an event, and a side that has published nothing this morning may publish by tonight. If it is still true when we stop checking, we will say so plainly.
Brazil's next president will inherit a substantial number of appointments to key institutions, with vacancies at the Supreme Court, the central bank, and economic regulators. The winner of the upcoming election could wield significant influence over bodies that shape monetary policy, financial markets, and constitutional interpretation. This situation arises as Congress has increasingly used the confirmation of nominees as a tool for political leverage, leading to delays and a reduction in the executive branch's ability to act.
At the central bank, two board seats have been vacant since January, the longest period on record for these positions. The Supreme Court also has a vacancy that has persisted for nearly a year, the longest since Brazil's return to democracy in the 1980s. The securities regulator CVM has experienced board vacancies since late 2024, and the antitrust watchdog Cade is operating with a reduced quorum, which is delaying merger reviews.
This trend reflects a structural shift in Brazilian politics, where nominations and legislative proposals are increasingly negotiated among congressional leaders rather than directly between the president and coalition parties. Congressional earmarks, which direct federal funding to specific projects, have grown substantially, accounting for 21% of effective federal discretionary spending in 2025, up from 7.5% in 2018. Last year, Congress approved 178 bills introduced by legislators, compared to only 50 from the executive branch, a reversal from previous years.
Disagreement on nomination delays
The Star Kuala Lumpur reported that a predominantly right-wing Congress has used its growing power during the current presidential term by delaying nominations from the incumbent. The same report stated that the incumbent has also failed to make some nominations. It also noted that many nomination processes stalled during the pandemic, awaiting Senate president's approval, a practice that concentrated power in the Senate and turned a routine step into a political decision. A person familiar with the process requested anonymity. The presidential palace and the Senate president's office did not respond to requests for comment. The Star Kuala Lumpur also cited a law professor who said the executive has become reluctant to submit nominees without first gauging their Senate prospects. In contrast, the digests do not provide this level of detail on the reasons for nomination delays or the specific actions of Congress and the executive.
What the coverage left out
None of the centre-rated digests mention the increase in congressional earmarks from 7.5% of federal discretionary spending in 2018 to 21% in 2025. None of the centre-rated digests mention that in 2025, Congress approved 178 bills introduced by legislators compared to 50 from the executive.
Still developing. We have re-checked which outlets are covering this 4 times, most recently on 2 Oct 2026, 23:00, and will add the sides that appear.
How each side covered it
Our own reading of the reporting listed below, written from the outlets’ articles rather than quoted from them. The reasoning is set out on our methodology page.
Left
0 rated outlets
No outlet rated left has run this story so far. We are still checking, and will say plainly if that does not change.
Centre
4 rated outlets
- The centre-rated reports led with the fact that Brazil's next president will inherit a large number of appointments to powerful institutions, with vacancies at the Supreme Court, central bank, and economic regulators. These reports highlighted that the election winner could gain significant influence over bodies shaping monetary policy, financial markets, and constitutional interpretation. They also noted the central bank has had two board seats vacant since January, a record length of time. The digests did not provide specific details on the political leverage Congress has used or the increase in congressional earmarks.
Right
2 rated outlets
- The right-rated reports led with the headline "How Brazil's election winner could reshape its institutions as vacancies mount." The Star Kuala Lumpur's full report detailed that the next president will inherit an unusually large number of appointments to the country's most powerful institutions, with vacancies at the Supreme Court, central bank, and economic regulators. This report also explained that the winner could gain significant influence over bodies shaping monetary policy, financial markets, and constitutional interpretation. The Star Kuala Lumpur's report also provided details on the increasing power of Congress, noting that a predominantly right-wing Congress has delayed nominations and that the incumbent has also failed to make some nominations. It also cited data showing a significant increase in congressional earmarks and the number of bills approved by Congress compared to the executive.
Questions about this coverage
- How did the left and right cover Brazil's next president to inherit many institutional vacancies?
- Of the 6 outlets on this story carrying a published leaning rating, 0% are rated left, 67% are rated centre, 33% are rated right. Those percentages are shares of the rated outlets, not of every outlet that ran it. The sections above set out what each side emphasised, in its own terms.
- Is Brazil's next president to inherit many institutional vacancies left or right?
- Too few of the outlets on this story carry a published leaning rating to say. 6 of them do, and this site does not characterise a field under 12: at that size one newsroom filing moves the share by ten points. The percentages above are the count as it stands.
- Is the coverage of Brazil's next president to inherit many institutional vacancies biased?
- Brazil's next president to inherit many institutional vacancies is one event reported by 6 outlets, and this page does not rate the story as biased or unbiased. What it publishes is the spread: which outlets ran it, where named rating organisations place each of them on the spectrum, and what each side chose to lead with. A leaning rating describes an outlet's record over time, not this article, and the two should not be run together.
- Which side is not reporting Brazil's next president to inherit many institutional vacancies?
- When we first saw this story, outlets rated left had barely covered it. Coverage accretes for hours after an event, so that is where to look rather than a verdict — the split above is the current count, and it is the one to read.
- Which outlets covered Brazil's next president to inherit many institutional vacancies?
- 6 that we know of, every one of them listed further up this page with a link to its own report and to what we hold on the publisher. Nothing here is a summary of somebody else's summary: the outlets are named so the original reporting can be read.
- Why will Brazil's next president have significant influence?
- Brazil's next president will inherit a large number of appointments to powerful institutions, including the Supreme Court and central bank. This situation grants significant influence over monetary policy, financial markets, and constitutional interpretation, as Congress increasingly uses confirmations for political leverage.
- What is the situation at Brazil's central bank?
- The central bank has had two board seats vacant since January. This is a record length of time for these posts to remain unfilled, potentially impacting the bank's ability to shape monetary policy.
- How has Congress's power changed in Brazil?
- Congress has increasingly used confirmation processes as political leverage, delaying nominations and eroding executive branch power. Congressional earmarks have also grown substantially, and Congress is now approving more bills than the executive.
Read it at the source
6 outlets, grouped by the leaning a published rating gives them. Every headline links to the original; an underlined outlet name opens our profile of that publisher.
Left
0No outlet in this group ran the story.
Centre
4- How Brazil’s election winner could reshape its institutions as vacancies mount (opens The Mighty 790 KFGO in a new tab)
The Mighty 790 KFGO — is The Mighty 790 KFGO biased? Our profile of this outlet
- How Brazil’s election winner could reshape its institutions as vacancies mount (opens Investing.com in a new tab)
Investing.com — is Investing.com biased? Our profile of this outlet
- How Brazil's election winner could reshape its institutions as vacancies mount (opens Reuters in a new tab)
- How Brazil’s election winner could reshape its institutions as vacancies mount (opens WTVB in a new tab)
Right
2- How Brazil's election winner could reshape its institutions as vacancies mount (opens The Star Kuala Lumpur in a new tab)
The Star Kuala Lumpur — is The Star Kuala Lumpur biased? Our profile of this outlet
- How Brazil's election winner could reshape its institutions as vacancies mount (opens The Straits Times in a new tab)
The Straits Times — is The Straits Times biased? Our profile of this outlet
Not rated
0No outlet in this group ran the story.
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