Server demand can be met by PEC of Precatório, says Bolsonaro

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President Jair Bolsonaro (no party) mentioned this Monday (15) in Dubai the possibility of using the fiscal space opened by the possible approval of the PEC (proposed amendment to the Constitution) of the Precatório, which defaults on judicial debts of the Union and circumvents the spending ceiling, to meet the demands of public servants.

He did not detail what these claims would be. The federal civil service has had salaries frozen since the beginning of the pandemic, and new civil service exams have been interrupted or cancelled.

“We proposed to Congress, and the Chamber gave the green light, for us to split more than half of it there [precatórios]. Then we can serve the most needy, we can meet the budget issue, we even think about obviously, given the space that is left, partially serving the servers,” he said, in a press interview given during his participation in Expo 2020, international exhibition that takes place in the emirate of the Persian Gulf.

Although Bolsonaro did not mention salary readjustments, the Ministry of Economy has been studying for at least three months the possibility of an increase for civil servants. The fiscal impact resulting from such a measure was estimated between R$ 5 billion and R$ 15 billion at the beginning of the discussions, according to interlocutors of the economic team heard by the sheet.

A slack for values ​​would be generated with the PEC dos Precatório, which circumvents the spending ceiling and allows the government to spend another R$ 91.6 billion in 2022 without the need to cut other expenses — which raises the deficit in public accounts and the country’s indebtedness. Brazil has been in the red since 2014, its debt exceeds R$5.4 trillion and interest costs are paid by society as a whole.

Despite saying that the PEC will allow an increase in the values ​​of Auxílio Brasil, the text does not say where the resources should go. The opposition says the measure represents a blank check on public funds for Bolsonaro to spend. Government and allies are interested in other expenses, such as aid for truck drivers and even resources for parliamentary amendments.

In the case of civil servants, the signal is made after the government is unable to advance its proposal for administrative reform. Bolsonaro has already said that, if it is not approved this year, it will go to the president chosen in the next elections.

The president once again said that the amendment to the precatories does not represent a breach of the ceiling, as most economists claim. In the Bolonarist version, it was made to respect and discipline the spending limit.

“We had planned to pay around R$30 billion [de precatórios] next year, it went up to almost R$90 [bilhões]. This difference has to go through the roof. If you enter the roof, we go to Brazil. And we don’t want to break the roof,” he said.

Bolsonaro said he hopes the amendment will be approved by the Senate, where it still needs to go through two rounds of voting with a qualified quorum and is facing greater difficulties than in the House.

“What we expect from the Precatório PEC is that it will be approved. What is the Precatório PEC? These are debts that go back 30, 40 years, and suddenly the STF [Supremo Tribunal federal] he said that we have to pay at once,” said the president.

Part of the president’s delegation, Economy Minister Paulo Guedes, earlier painted a positive scenario for Brazil’s public accounts, saying that they help to maintain a robust level of growth.

He said that Brazil, this year, should reach the mark of half a trillion dollars in current trade, which is the sum of exports and imports.

All the result, he said, of changes in the government’s mentality, more oriented towards the private sector.

“The Brazilian government spent a lot and spent badly. The economy was a paradise for rentiers and a hell for entrepreneurs. The growth axis will be the private sector. This is the great transformation that we will make in Brazil,” declared Guedes.

Collaborated with Fábio Pupo, from Brasília.

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