Bolsonaro government withdraws R$ 1.2 billion from resources for science, and entities criticize

The Jair Bolsonaro (PL) government published three ordinances that withdraw more than R$ 1.2 billion from the FNDCT (National Fund for Scientific and Technological Development). The action opened space in the budget for the Ministries of Economy, Regional Development and Labor and Welfare.

The FNDCT is an important mechanism to finance scientific and technological development. Part of this resource is intended for research institutes. Another portion comprises a credit aimed at companies wishing to conduct research.

THE Sheet contacted the Special Secretariat for the Treasury and Budget, an area linked to the Ministry of Economy and from where the ordinance was issued. Until the publication of the report, there was no response.

The federal government had already tried to block the fund’s resources on other occasions. One of these cases took place in July and involved a provision contained in the PLN (Bill of the National Congress) 17/22 that opened a loophole for the blockade and transfer of more than BRL 2.5 billion. But in the National Congress vote, the passage was rejected.

A little over a month later, at the end of August, the government edited MP (Provisional Measure) 1,136/2022, which allows for cutting funds in the area of ​​science and technology, redirecting space in the Budget to accommodate other expenses, including parliamentary amendments.

The most recent blockage took place through three ordinances effective since its publication, on October 3, 5 and 8. In practice, they have a purpose similar to that of MP 1,136: making budget resources available for other purposes at the expense of reducing the funds destined for scientific funding.

The new mechanism made scientific entities criticize the government’s decision. A note was published this Thursday (13) by ICTP (Initiative for Science and Technology in Parliament) and signed by other organizations, such as SBPC (Brazilian Society for the Progress of Science) and ABC (Brazilian Academy of Sciences).

In the document, the entities state that projects financed by the FNDCT “will be drastically harmed with the discontinuity in funding, due to the new Ordinance”.

One of these initiatives is Sirius, a particle accelerator located on the outskirts of Campinas, in the interior of São Paulo. The project had R$ 77 million blocked by the ordinance. Before this blockade, the program was already experiencing difficulties in its budget.

In addition to it, funding mechanisms in several scientific areas had their resources suspended. For the financing of research in the health area, for example, more than R$ 30 million were blocked.