The significant increase in the amount allocated to led deputies and senators to indicate up to three quarters of the budget of certain ministries of () in 2024.
The highest proportion (74%) is registered with the Ministry of Sports, led by André Fufuca (-MA). The department had R$1.3 billion allocated by Congress.
The survey considers discretionary resources (funds for costs and investments) that were committed in the same year. Commitment is the step that precedes payment.
The Ministry of Tourism, headed by (União-PA), another name indicated by the center, comes in second place, with 69%.
The data shows that, in addition to restricting the government’s autonomy, Congress’s control over the budget made federal agencies dependent on political appointments.
Of all discretionary federal resources, which totaled R$230.1 billion in commitments in 2024, around 19.5% were directed by parliamentary amendments, an unprecedented percentage.
Parliamentary nominations exploded mainly from 2020 onwards. In 2019, before the escalation of this model, under the government (), nominations from deputies and senators reached less than 8% of the discretionary amount committed.
These indications occupied around 13.8% of this Budget cut in 2022. In the following year, the percentage was around 16.6%.
The calculation considers federal discretionary resources, that is, funds signed by federal ministers and managers, in addition to parliamentary nominations, and which are used to fund and invest in public policies. The same account does not evaluate mandatory expenses, such as those used for salaries and pensions.
Amendments are a way in which deputies and senators can send federal money for works and projects in their electoral bases and, in doing so, increase their political capital.
not the locations with the highest demand in the country, and the use of this resource still accumulates reports of irregularities.
In the Sports portfolio, around R$700 million in amendments were committed to non-profit institutions, such as NGOs. The alleged favoritism towards some of these entities is.
One of the NGOs most benefited from the funds reserved by Sport, with around R$40 million per year, is the Moriá Association. The entity by military and former members of the and received amendments from the Federal District bench for in Brasília, such as the Sheet showed.
In the case of Health, deputies and senators directed 44% of discretionary resources, totaling R$25 billion. Minister Nísia Trindade’s portfolio usually receives the largest share of amendments, as parliamentarians are obliged to apply part of the recommendations in the area.
Even with unprecedented control over the Budget, Congress leaders maintain constant demands for the release of the ministry’s resources. To alleviate the pressure, the Health that several municipalities could receive last year, months before the municipal elections.
The money from amendments to the portfolio is mainly allocated to state and municipal coffers and, in some cases, accounts for a relevant proportion of the local budget.
In Duque de Caxias (RJ), for example, around R$545 million has been indicated by parliamentarians since 2020. The amount represents almost a quarter of all federal transfers to the municipal health fund in the same period.
Linked bodies
Data on the execution of the budget of bodies linked to the ministries show an even greater dependence on the amendments.
Last year, ten federal education institutes had more than 80% of all their investments (funds for purchasing equipment and works) funded by amendments.
Parliamentary nominations reached almost 99% of the R$85 million invested by the Federal Institute of Espírito Santo during the year. The main sources of funding were nominations signed by the state bench.
“It is important to highlight that, although the amendments were fundamental at this time, they do not represent the most appropriate form of budget distribution for a network that is, above all, a State policy”, said Conif (National Council of Institutions of Federal Network of Professional, Scientific and Technological Education).
“In principle, there is nothing wrong with someone putting an amendment to a university in their state, because they think it is important, but it has almost become a rule,” said Claudia Costin, former global director of education at the World Bank and specialist in educational policies .
“Universities end up losing their autonomy, because they have to beg for an amendment here, another there. It’s not healthy”, he adds.
This Sunday (12), Minister Flávio Dino, of the STF, ordered the Union and the states to publish, within 30 days, rules on sending people linked to higher education institutions.
In a note, the Institutional Relations Secretariat, commanded by the minister (PT-SP) and which liaises with Congress, said that it is the Executive’s responsibility to execute the Budget Law, while Congress “holds the competence to include amendments”.
The ministry also stated that complementary law 210, sanctioned in November, limits the growth of amendments based on the rules of the fiscal framework and brings other advances, such as the “requirement for application to projects of national or regional interest, in the case of commission amendments.” .
The Ministry of Sports, which holds the largest proportion of amendments in the Budget, stated that it does not make distinctions about the origin of resources. “The fact that a significant portion of our resources come from parliamentary amendments only reinforces the importance of good dialogue between the Executive and the Legislative.”
