The rapporteur of the 2025 Budget Guidelines Law (PLDO) project, senator Confúcio Moura (MDB-RO), included in his opinion a provision that, in practice, will force the government to aim at the center of next year’s fiscal target – which is to bring the deficit to zero – by October. The measure was anticipated by the Estadão/Broadcast. The expectation is that the opinion will be voted on this Tuesday, 17th, by the Joint Budget Committee (CMO).
In the report released this Monday, the 16th, the senator argued that, throughout this year, it was observed that the government could not aim for the center of the target in its bimonthly assessments and promote “more vigorous adjustments” due to the lack of normative order in this regard. “In order to fill this gap, we welcome the amendment so that compliance with the primary result target can only be based on the lower limit based on the assessment relating to the fifth two months of the financial year”, wrote the rapporteur in the opinion.
The Expenditure and Revenue Assessment Report for the 5th Bimester is released at the end of November, and reflects the projections of public accounts calculated based on numbers collected in September and October.
“Compliance with the primary result target referred to in the caput must be demonstrated through the primary revenue and expenditure assessment report, prepared as provided in art. 9 of Complementary Law No. 101 of 2000 – Fiscal Responsibility Law, with the use of the tolerance interval provided for in item II of ? 1st of this article only from the end of the fifth two months”, states the opinion of the bill.
As the report showed earlier today, the device was included by the senator following a request from the leader of the opposition in the Senate, senator Rogério Marinho (PL-RN).
Sectors protected from contingency
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Confúcio Moura added to the opinion a list of expenses that must be protected from contingency – which is when the government needs to freeze expenses due to the frustration of revenue collection. The senator argued that the Fiscal Responsibility Law (LRF) already provides that there are expenses that cannot be limited, without them having been listed, however, in the project sent by the government.
The expectation is that the opinion will be voted on this Tuesday, 17th, by the Mixed Budget Committee (CMO) of the National Congress. Moura decided to remove, for example, federal universities from the list of expenses subject to contingency. “The need to meet the primary result target (…) may lead to the contingency of certain expenses, harming the provision of public policies affected by the ‘cut’ for fiscal policy purposes”, argued the senator.
Also on this point, Moura suggested prohibiting the blocking of remainders to be paid within the scope of the Ministry of Education. “This measure will allow the continued execution of expenses budgeted in previous years, but which were not completed due to various contingencies, and thus protect the benefits for the population to be served”, he wrote.
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Among other highlights that cannot be contingency are expenses related to promoting regional development through the application of resources directly collected by the Superintendency of the Manaus Free Trade Zone (Suframa); expenses related to Maritime Professional Education (EPM) aimed at qualifying and training port and waterway agents; implementation of the Integrated Border Monitoring System (SISFRON); and expenses with analyzes for granting mining titles and monitoring the mining of strategic mineral resources.
The list also includes, among other expenses, those made for the acquisition and distribution of food from family farming to promote food and nutritional security; agricultural defense; economic subsidy for rural insurance premiums; and expenses for the prevention and mitigation of natural disasters.
Moura highlighted in his opinion that contingency should not be confused with blocking resources – when the government freezes because spending has risen beyond what is allowed. “The LRF admits that the LDO reserves contingency expenses,” he said.
