Members of the Brazilian Workers Party (PT) heavily criticized their coalition partners, the social-democrat party PMDB, over the weekend during its fifth congress held in the northeastern city of Salvador.

During the discussions, several leaders proposed an end to the governing coalition alliance with the PMDB.

Julia Turra, leader of Brazil’s largest largest trade union federation, CUT, who accused the PMDB of undermining the PT legislative agenda. He went on to cite Lower House Speaker Eduardo Cunha as the primary “target of the protests and complaints by the allied social movements.”

Carlos Zarattini, a PT lawmaker, echoed similar sentiments and was applauded after he referred to Cunha as an “opportunist”.

In an interview with Brazilian newspaper O Estado de São Paulo, Cunha responded to the comments stating, “I would like to thank those who expressed hostility to me at the PT congress. This is a sign that I am on the right path”.

Cunha went on to add that it would have been better if the party had discussed the end of the PT-PMDB alliance at their annual congress. He has also said it was unlikely that the alliance between the ruling Workers Party (PT) and the Brazilian Democratic Movement Party would continue in 2018. 

In recent months, the presidents of both houses of Congress, Eduardo Cunha in the lower house and Renan Calheiros in the Senate – both of whom are from the PMDB– have obstructed several PT legislative proposals from passing Congress.  

Internal conflict within the governing coalition has resulted in setbacks for the government's domestic political agenda.

Following the 2014 national elections, the PT and its main political ally in Congress, PMDB, saw their congressional seats reduced.

Meanwhile the number of parties in Congress increased from 22 to 28, making it even more difficult to approve bills and establish common ground.