The Jair Bolsonaro (PL) government decided to release R$3.5 billion in rapporteur amendments, used as a bargaining chip in negotiations with the National Congress, less than a month before the elections.
The division of resources was authorized by the JEO (Budget Execution Board), a collegiate body formed by ministers Paulo Guedes (Economy) and Ciro Nogueira (Casa Civil).
The amount should be used to contemplate allies of the Planalto Palace and also of the National Congress summit, many of whom are seeking re-election this year.
In the middle of the electoral calendar, the resources indicated for the electoral strongholds of these parliamentarians can be committed — this is the first phase of spending, when there is a commitment to that expense. Despite this, the financial transfer is prohibited until the end of the elections, except in the case of work or agreement already in progress.
The initiative has been criticized by opposition parliamentarians, who question the measure in the STF (Supreme Federal Court).
The release of funds is possible thanks to two MPs (provisional measures) by Bolsonaro to postpone or limit science and culture expenditures previously approved by the Legislature. The maneuver, revealed by the Sheetallowed to play R$ 5.6 billion in expenses for 2023 and pave the way to unlocking part of the amendments.
The strategy for immediate release of the budget concluded with a decree that allowed the government to use the relief to unlock spending without the need to prepare a report reviewing the budget’s income and expenditures. The document, which is periodic, will have its next edition on September 22nd – waiting for it would leave little time for the release of the amendments before the elections on October 2nd.
The decree was published in an extra edition of the Official Gazette on the night of September 6, the eve of the Independence Bicentennial holiday.
Most of the resources, R$ 1.7 billion, will be used in actions of the Ministry of Regional Development, one of the preferred portfolios by parliamentarians to direct resources for paving works or purchase of machinery for their bases.
The ministries of Health (R$ 698 million), Citizenship (R$ 598 million) and Agriculture (R$ 230 million) will also be covered.
The other R$ 2.1 billion will be used to unlock the ministries’ own expenses, which are strangled due to the blockade of R$ 12.7 billion in the Budget, in force since the end of July.
The cut also hit the seams. In July, when almost half of the R$ 16.5 billion in amendments by the rapporteur was blocked, the president of the Chamber, Arthur Lira (PP-AL), who controls part of the funds, complained to Palácio do Planalto.
The Executive is reallocating resources after Bolsonaro cut funding for science and culture. On August 29, the president edited two MPs (provisional measures), one of them to limit the spending of the FNDCT (National Scientific and Technological Development Fund) in 2022 to R$5.6 billion. In practice, the government gained space in the Budget.
Another MP postponed the transfers of the Paulo Gustavo and Aldir Blanc laws, to aid culture in states and municipalities, and the Perse (Emergency Program for the Resumption of the Events Sector), approved by Congress as a response to the crisis caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. in these sectors.
The transfers were approved by Congress and vetoed by Bolsonaro. In reaction, the Legislature overrode the vetoes, reinstating the financial aid, now postponed at the stroke of a pen by the President of the Republic. A provisional measure has the force of law from the moment of its publication, lasting up to 120 days — a period in which it needs to be ratified by parliamentarians to remain in force.
Even postponing the expenses, the economic team would have to wait for September 22 to foresee the release of funds, to be effected in a decree at the end of the month.
The Ministry of Economy can even prepare extemporaneous reports whenever it deems necessary, but this task requires an effort from the entire Esplanada dos Ministérios to send updated information, including projections of inflation, growth, forecast of expenses with social security and assistance benefits, among others. .
The decree issued last week by the government allowed the early incorporation of the effects of legal rules implemented after the most recent edition of the bimonthly income and expenditure report (in this case, referring to July) into the budget execution.
According to reports, the decree was edited to “give the necessary comfort” to technicians in releasing these resources without the need for a new report. There was pressure from the top of Congress to unlock the funds soon.
The amendments became strategic in the reelection of parliamentarians. According to data from Diap (Inter-union Department of Parliamentary Advice), of the 513 federal deputies, 446 will seek reelection, which represents 86.93% of the Chamber.
In the Federal Senate, of the 27 senators at the end of their term, 12 will seek reelection (44.44%). Even among those who will not seek a new term, there are those who seek election in another office.
In addition, the president of the Chamber hopes, with the amendments, to have the firepower to garner support and get his re-election to the command of the House in 2023, as shown by the Sheet.
On September 22, the next report will detail all the changes, but the effect of the release will have already been absorbed by the bodies and parliamentarians awarded the amendments.
According to the understanding of the AGU (Advocacy-General of the Union), in the period before the elections, the government can adopt “preparatory acts” for the execution of the amendments, which includes the signing of agreements. In the interpretation of the technicians, the commitment of the expense is also a preparatory act, since there is no financial transfer.
Although Bolsonaro’s decree has the immediate effect of releasing funds, members of the economic team warn that the norm also allows the immediate incorporation of impacts in the opposite direction, that is, that force the government to cut expenses.
If Congress approves a measure that increases Executive spending, the Economy will be able, under the new rule, to immediately block funds to compensate for this increase in spending.
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