A device that would open a breach for the blockade and transfer of more than R$ 2.5 billion intended for scientific funding in Brazil was rejected this Tuesday (12) in a vote in the National Congress.
The measure was part of the PLN (Bill of the National Congress) 17/22, which was approved and will be forwarded to the sanction of President Jair Bolsonaro (PL). However, by 197 votes against 187, the parliamentarians decided to remove the section criticized by scientific entities, which saw an attack on the budget earmarked for the sector.
In June, the Federal Government blocked the amount of R$ 2.5 billion from the estimated budget of the FNDCT (National Fund for Scientific and Technological Development). The fund was created in 1969 and is an important mechanism to finance scientific and technological development projects.
A law published in January 2021, however, had prohibited the contingency of FNDCT resources. The passage now excluded from the proposal was intended to provide legal certainty to the Bolsonaro government’s blockade through a new legislative instrument.
“There is no legal basis to maintain this blockade, so eventually it would be released”, says José Roque da Silva, director general of CNPEM (National Center for Research in Energy and Materials).
The text would also allow the fund’s budget to be used for other purposes. This transfer, however, would not be automatic — it would be necessary to issue new bills that would make this amount available for actions other than those linked to the fund.
The current freezing of resources and the possibility of approving the measure that would prolong the contingency worry entities. In the case of Silva, the biggest concern is with the continuity of the CNPEM projects, the center where Sirius, a particle accelerator located in Campinas (SP) is developed.
The director explains that the accelerator involves several workstations that can reach 38. At the moment, the project is in phase 1 of development, in which 14 of these stations should work, but only six are operating. “The budget for the completion of phase 1 was allocated within these R$ 2.5 billion. So the cancellation of this allocation would prevent Sirius from being completed”, he says.
The president of the SBPC (Brazilian Society for the Progress of Science), Renato Janine Ribeiro, wrote a note that repudiated PLN 17. The text was ratified by other scientific entities in the country, such as the ABC (Brazilian Academy of Sciences).
For Ribeiro, the congressional decision was “an important victory” for the scientific community. “We will continue to mobilize in defense of science, technology and education, but today we achieved a victory thanks to the efforts of the scientific community and the participation of committed parliamentarians”, he declared.
Fábio Gomes, executive secretary of ICTP (Initiative for Science and Technology in Parliament), says that the rejection of the PLN 17 passage was a salvation for scientific funding in Brazil. “Brazilian science, technology and innovation can no longer withdraw from their investments because for some years science and education have been losing resources”, he says. The organization works with the Legislature for the scientific and technological development of Brazil.
In this Tuesday’s vote, deputy Carlos Henrique Gaguim (União-TO), the rapporteur who gave a favorable opinion to the PLN, said that the project did not withdraw funds from the fund and that, if that happened, the government had signed a commitment to restore the funds, if necessary.
Lawmakers opposed to the measure countered. Deputy Afonso Florence (PT-BA) said that, even with the subsequent replacement of the amount withdrawn, the project would have a negative impact by suspending public notices and research currently funded by the FNDCT.
Appointed by Palácio do Planalto to comment on the measure, the Ministry of Economy stated that the bill would bring greater legal certainty to the FNDCT. The ministry also reiterated that the proposal is in accordance with the attributions of the Executive Power in accordance with the Federal Constitution.
