BRASÍLIA — Brazil's opposition has intensified efforts to investigate Fábio Luís Lula da Silva, the president's eldest son and a focal point of a tightening 2026 presidential race, as lawmakers move to open a new congressional inquiry commission and ask the Supreme Federal Court (STF) to freeze potentially deleted digital evidence.
Senator Carlos Viana (PSD-MG), who previously chaired the INSS CPMI, began collecting signatures from deputies and senators on Thursday for a fresh CPMI aimed at scrutinizing Lula's son. In a parallel step, Viana asked STF Minister André Mendonça to deepen an existing investigation and preserve digital evidence in the case.
The push coincides with a dip in President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva's polling lead over rival Flávio Bolsonaro (PL), which analysts say began as inquiries into Fábio Lula, dubbed the "Lulinha factor," gained traction at the end of July.
It is not the first attempt. In late March, the INSS CPMI report, authored by deputy Alfredo Gaspar (PL-AL) — now Flávio's running mate — called for Fábio Lula's indictment, but the committee rejected the recommendation.
Viana's latest request asks Congress to clarify whether Fábio Lula collected or promised payments for intervening on behalf of private interests before federal agencies, including the Ministry of Health and Dataprev. The inquiry also targets his alleged ties to lobbyist Roberta Luchsinger; Antônio Carlos Camilo Antunes, the so-called "Careca do INSS"; and companies linked to those circles.
Opening a CPMI requires at least 171 signatures from deputies and 27 from senators — one-third of each chamber — with the final call resting with Congress's president, Davi Alcolumbre.
Separately, Viana filed a supplementary criminal complaint with Mendonça, citing a Veja magazine report that reportedly accessed sealed Federal Police files. The filing requests preservation of files, forensic images, metadata and chain-of-custody records, arguing that messages attributed to Fábio Lula were deleted and later recovered by PF forensic tools. It also calls for scrutiny of financial flows and potential offshore accounts.
Fábio Lula is now the subject of three STF-approved investigations launched in July, which allege schemes to funnel favors to companies through the Ministry of Health and Dataprev. One confidential probe also links him, lobbyist Luchsinger and Lula's former chief of staff, Marco Aurélio Santana Ribeiro — known as Marcola.
Fábio Lula's defense denies wrongdoing and accuses investigators of selective leaks.
CNN Brasil was first to report the signature-gathering effort and the STF filing.