National Confederation of Public Servants claims that the entity was created without authorization by law and compromises the credibility of statistics
The (National Confederation of Public Servants) sent this Tuesday (21 January 2025) a letter to the National Congress asking for the suspension of the creation of the IBGE+ Foundation. The entity is a foundation that supports its activities (Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics).
The confederation claims that the entity was created without legislative authorization and operates in parallel to the IBGE, threatening the credibility of Brazil’s official statistics and the institution’s autonomy. It also accuses the administration of President Marcio Pochmann of “authoritarian attacks” what “may constitute institutional harassment of moral expression”.
“In the face of flagrant abuses, the CNSP is asking Congressmen to adopt a legislative measure to urgently suspend the constitutive act of the private entity IBGE+, as well as denounce –in the exercise of political representation– the Brazilian State to the ILO [Organização Internacional do Trabalho]the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights and the United Nations for violations of the universally guaranteed freedom of representative entities”he writes. Here is the letter (PDF – 385 kB).
The CNSP criticizes:
- the creation of the foundation without authorization by law, on a unilateral initiative by IBGE;
- disrespect for ministerial ties, as an entity must be connected to a body that supervises it;
- the confusion of roles and competencies with the IBGE itself and higher education institutions;
- the risk to IBGE’s credibility, as it has a similar name and parallel operations;
- the deviation from the spending ceiling, alleging that the foundation circumvents the Union’s device, since the resources raised are not collected by the National Treasury; and
- the creation of a parallel structure, which would fragment the Union’s strategic functions.
The “authoritarian attacks”cites demonstrations by the (National Union of IBGE Workers), which have already criticized Pochmann’s management several times for not dialoguing with employees when promoting changes that affect them. Among them: transfer of unit, end of remote work, changes in statute and creation of the foundation.
In a statement, the presidency of the research body raised the accusations and said it was the target of “lies” disclosed by employees, former workers and union institutions.
IBGE+ FOUNDATION
Created in 2024, the IBGE+ Foundation is a public foundation under private law, linked to the IBGE. It is the biggest source of dissatisfaction among the agency’s employees, who call it a “Parallel IBGE”.
He is responsible for the organization’s Technological Innovation Center and for supporting research. It is linked to the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation and not to the Ministry of Planning and Budget, like the IBGE itself.
CRISIS AT IBGE
On January 7, 2 research directors at the institute were . The exchange was announced through an official note, which did not detail the reasons. The organization’s union representation attributed the departure of Elizabeth Hypolito and João Hallak Neto to the fact that “do not agree with management practices” by Pochmann.
One against the presidency’s stances was released, signed by managers, coordinators and former directors. The episode represented an escalation in tension, which had already been expressed by lower-level employees, who had already carried out 24 hours of action against structural issues in the organization.
The crisis at the institute has been used by the opposition to the PT government. On December 27 last year, for example, former president (PL) said that the unemployment rate in Brazil published by IBGE is “a lie”. The rate in the quarter ending in November was 6.1%, the rate started in 2012.
In response, the national president of the PT, deputy (PR), on January 4 that Bolsonaro “attack” the IBGE because it has “aversion to the truth”.
The PT president said that the methodology used by IBGE is the same as that used in all governments since 2012, including the period in which Bolsonaro and then Economy Minister Paulo Guedes took unemployment to 14% – worsened by the covid pandemic. In 2021, the unemployment rate remained at in the quarter ending in May.
IBGE MADE THE MAP WRONG
Under Pochmann’s management, IBGE created a world map in which Brazil appears at the center of the world as part of the 9th School Geographic Atlas. The version, however, a number of errors.
One sequence swapped maps of the Jurassic (which is said to have been 135 million years ago) and Cretaceous (65 million years ago) periods – a difference of 70 million years. The sequence also contained incorrect information about the age, length of geological periods and separation of continents on the planet. At the time, IBGE recognized the flaws and published an errata.
MARCIO POCHMANN
Appointed by the Lula government, Pochmann was appointed to the position on August 18, 2023. He has already presided over the Perseu Abramo Foundation, linked to the PT, and the Lula Institute. He was also president of Ipea (Institute for Applied Economic Research). His management was criticized internally for allegedly having equipped the body and running a more ideological administration.
With , the head of IBGE has already criticized Pix, labor and social security reforms and defended the reduction of working hours.
