The blocking of funds from the Ministry of Justice and Public Security can affect operations and lead to the immediate suspension of the issuance of passports, even for those who have already scheduled the service, says Minister of the Ministry, Anderson Torres, in a letter to the Ministry of Economy.
The alert is an attempt by the agency to pressure Minister Paulo Guedes’ team (Economy) to reverse the cut in resources.
The document was signed on August 3, five days after the publication of the new budget programming decree, which indicated the size of the scissor cut in the expenditures of each ministry. The hardest hit were Health and Education.
With the growth of mandatory expenditures, the government had to block another R$ 8.8 billion in discretionary resources from the agencies to avoid bursting the spending ceiling, the rule that limits the advance of expenses to inflation. As there was already a previous lock of BRL 6 billion, the total unavailable amount reaches BRL 14.8 billion.
According to the letter of the Minister of Justice, the portfolio was the target of a cut of R$ 229.14 million, of which R$ 161.7 million in the body’s own appropriations and the rest in funds directed by parliamentarians via amendments.
The amounts to be blocked from each ministry are defined by the JEO (Budget Execution Board), formed by ministers Guedes and Ciro Nogueira (Casa Civil). However, the affected departments can give their opinion on the allocation of the blockade between their bodies, informing which priority expenses need to be preserved.
In an attempt to increase their power of pressure and sensitize other areas of the government against the cuts, it is common for ministries to end up drawing attention to the reduction of funds in areas with a potential impact on service to the population. In 2017, the PF suspended the issuance of passports, and the government ended up submitting a request for opening a credit to cover the corporation.
In the letter, Torres asks for the reversal of the cuts to avoid impacts on the ministry’s activities. The portfolio has an endowment of R$ 2.7 billion in resources (without considering amendments) and, according to the official letter, it already needed a complementation of R$ 565.6 million even before the new scissors.
“It should be noted that the blockade described will immediately cause the suspension of the passport issuance system, considering the lack of budgetary support for payments for the services of the Brazilian Mint”, warns the minister.
“In this way, all services at document preparation stations in Brazil will be interrupted, even if already scheduled by the applicant taxpayers”, he says in the document.
Issuing passports is a task performed by the Federal Police. According to the Ministry of Justice, the corporation’s budget alone was blocked by R$104.9 million.
In June, Torres and President Jair Bolsonaro (PL) launched, in a ceremony at Palácio do Planalto, a new model of passport, with innovations in security and tributes to regions of Brazil in its pages. The forecast announced at the time was to start production in September.
Among the other PF activities that may suffer from the cut, mention was made of works, conducting police training courses, carrying out operations together with other agencies to combat deforestation, illegal mining and crimes in indigenous areas.
The letter also mentions possible impacts on “the execution of planned operations, such as the election operation”. One of the PF’s attributions is to act in the security of candidates for the Presidency of the Republic.
As for the potential impacts on the PRF (Federal Highway Police), the ministry indicates that the blockade of R$ 79.5 million would affect the execution of a police training course, the acquisition of vehicles, the maintenance of an inspection and policing system that assists agencies “in reducing traffic violence and fighting crime”, among other operations.
The document also says that the blockade of R$ 11.85 million at Funai (National Indian Foundation) would make it impossible to comply with judicial decisions related to actions to repress environmental and human rights crimes in indigenous lands, scheduled for the second half of the year, mostly.
According to the Ministry of Justice, there would be a lack of funds for the purchase of air tickets, per diems and fuel for vehicles and aircraft, which would imply “a significant reduction in the outbreak of operations to combat corruption, environmental and cyber crimes, trade in and weapons, contraband and social security crimes”.
According to government technicians, the Minister of Justice’s request will be taken to the JEO, which is responsible for deliberating on cuts, reallocations and releases of funds. The government’s expectation is to get some relief in the coming months to have space and relieve the ministries with more committed budgets.
There is also a commitment with the National Congress to unlock the R$ 8.1 billion in amendments by the rapporteur and commission that had to be blocked to ensure compliance with the spending ceiling.
The lock on these resources, which serve as a bargaining chip in political negotiations, generated unease and sparked complaints on the part of the Legislative command.
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