On Thursday (11), Congress approved a bill that includes Brazil Aid in the government’s multi-year plan and transfers R$ 9.36 billion from Bolsa Família to the federal government’s new social program.
In two subsequent sessions, first for federal deputies and then for senators, the proposal ended up being approved in a bloc in both Houses. They all referred to opening credit.
The opposition complained about the vote on the credit opening proposals, because the summons to the National Congress session did not contemplate President Jair Bolsonaro’s veto vote. One of the vetoes that lawmakers are pressing to overthrow concerns the bill that guarantees the free distribution of tampons for low-income students and homeless women.
According to the congressional bill, BRL 9.2 billion will be allocated to transfer income for payment of the benefit and BRL 2 million will be allocated to improving mechanisms for managing and disseminating information to the Auxílio Brasil public.
Another R$ 93.4 million will be made available through support to federated entities, through the decentralized management index of Auxílio Brasil.
A few hours after approval, Palácio do Planalto informed that Bolsonaro had sanctioned the transfer of the balance from Bolsa Família to Auxílio Brasil and the inclusion of the new social program in the multiannual plan.
In the statement about the reallocation of the R$ 9.36 billion, Planalto said that the measure does not affect fiscal rules such as the spending ceiling and the golden rule.
Brazil Aid was announced at the end of October this year by President Jair Bolsonaro, replacing Bolsa Família. This is one of the chief executive’s main bets to review the fall in popularity and gain strength for the year 2022, when he will seek re-election.
The federal government seeks to pay installments of R$400 to beneficiaries as of December. For this, it has the approval of the PEC dos Precatório, which circumvents the spending ceiling and opens up space for up to R$ 91.6 billion — R$ 50 billion of which just for the program.
The PEC will begin its processing in the Senate, but congressmen have already stated that they will seek to reduce this space in the budget.
The savings in the Bolsa Família Budget were generated by the release of the so-called extraordinary credits during the Covid-19 pandemic. The instruments are not part of the Budget and are allowed by the Constitution in cases of unpredictability and urgency.
As the extraordinary credits were issued to pay emergency aid, and the payments replace Bolsa Família in most cases, a space was opened in the Budget.
Auxílio Brasil is considered a key player in Bolsonaro’s reelection project. The Planalto’s objective is that all families covered will receive at least R$400 by December 2022.
To accommodate rising spending next year, the government has proposed a move that circumvents the spending ceiling.
The purpose of the proposal is to open up budgetary space through a change in the way in which the fiscal rule is annually corrected. As of the change, space will be created in the government’s accounts in 2022, with an increase of R$ 30 billion in the ceiling.
The money will be used to temporarily turbocharge, until the end of next year, Auxílio Brasil.
The measure, associated with the limitation of court orders, should create a total margin of R$ 83 billion in the accounts in the year of the elections. Part of the money should be used to boost parliamentary amendments — resources directed by deputies and senators to works and projects at their bases.
The decision, which had the backing of the government and Minister Paulo Guedes (Economy), led to a collective request for the resignation of four secretaries responsible for commanding the area that controls the government’s coffer, the Special Secretariat for the Treasury and Budget.
Deputies and senators also approved another bill submitted by the Executive that transfers resources from the fiscal contingency reserve to a series of actions, in particular works under the responsibility of the Ministry of Regional Development. The portfolio is one of the main points of connection with the National Congress, as it carries out works in the electoral bases of deputies and senators.
The approved bill, for example, withdraws resources from the government’s resource reserve that are destined for unforeseen events and allocates them to Codevasf —under the influence of the Centrão— and to Dnocs (National Department of Works Against Droughts).
The bill provides for the total transfer of R$ 3 billion. For Codevasf alone, R$ 240 million were earmarked.
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