President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva plans to highlight the elimination of the INSS waiting list as a key achievement in his re-election campaign [1, 2].

The move is a strategic attempt to showcase the administration's progress on social security backlogs and strengthen his political message to voters. By framing the resolution of these delays as a victory, the president seeks to demonstrate a direct positive impact on the lives of millions of citizens.

Lula has promised to zero the queue for the National Social Security Institute (INSS) by September 2026 [1, 2]. This goal follows a period of significant volatility in the system. In February, the INSS saw a record 3.1 million requests [1].

To address the backlog, the government implemented a spending freeze totaling R$ 23.7 billion [3]. This financial maneuver was designed to fund the reduction of the queue. Some reports indicate a 70% reduction in the waiting list [2].

However, the administration still faces a substantial volume of pending cases. Reports from May indicated that 2.3 million INSS requests remained pending during this election year [3]. This gap between the promised "zero queue" and the current volume of requests remains a point of contention.

Despite these targeted efforts to clear the social security backlog, Brazil's broader fiscal health remains strained. The government continues to manage a public-finance deficit of R$ 60.3 billion [3]. This deficit persists even as the administration redirects funds to resolve the administrative delays within the social security system.

The president's focus on the INSS is a repetition of a promise made in 2022 [1]. The administration is now racing against the calendar to meet the September deadline to ensure the claim of a "zeroed queue" is accurate before the height of the campaign season.

“Lula has promised to zero the queue for the National Social Security Institute (INSS) by September 2026”

The focus on the INSS queue reflects a strategy to prioritize tangible, high-visibility social wins over broader fiscal stability. While a 70% reduction would be a significant administrative achievement, the remaining millions of pending requests and a R$ 60.3 billion deficit suggest that the government is balancing political optics against systemic economic challenges.