An agreement sewn between the governor (Republicans) and the bench of deputies and senators in the congress emptied investments and suspended works from the four universities and federal institute of the State of São Paulo: Unifesp, UFSCar, UFABC and IFSP.
The negotiation benefited both the state government and parliamentarians, but it was the result of the withdrawal of federal bench amendments worth R $ 80 million from 2024 and 2025, possible Tarcisio flag for next year.
Tarcisio says he should compete, while being pressured by allies to leave office in early 2026 to run for the Presidency of the Republic. The former president (PL), his political godfather, is ineligible, but continues to put himself in the race.
It was October 2023 when the governor received the congressmen from all parties for a dinner at the Bandeirantes Palace, in São Paulo, and officialized the pact alongside the then coordinator of the bench, Deputy Antonio Carlos Rodrigues (-SP).
On the one hand, the group decided to allocate all its federal amendments of R $ 316 million exclusively to two state government actions: Hospital das Clínicas and Tarcisio’s main bet to combat crime that includes facial recognition cameras.
In return, each of the 70 deputies and 3 Senators of SP would earn R $ 10 million in the state budget (the so -called voluntary amendments) to send to municipalities and projects of the Government of SP, totaling R $ 730 million – also double what they had as a bench, in a municipal election year.
Who controls the distribution of these amendments is the Secretariat of Government, under the command of, president of the PSD, party that (205 of 645).
The practice of giving in to state funds to federal deputies was already common in previous administrations, but it was the first time the negotiation has been more formally and benefited all parliamentarians, not just governors. “It was good for everyone,” said Deputy Antonio Carlos at the time.
It just didn’t look good for federal universities.
Since 2019, the IFSP (Federal Institute of SP), Unifesp (Federal of SP), UFABC (Federal University of ABC) and UFSCar (Federal University of São Carlos) also divided R $ 40 million annually into amendments from the São Paulo bench, which has become a kind of tradition.
Payment was the result of another agreement made at the time between the rectors of the institutions and the then coordinator of the bench, former deputy Herculano Passos (today in Republicans). This money, however, did not enter last year and will not enter this year after the Pact with Tarcisio.
“It was the main investment resource of federals,” says Daniel Pansarelli, Dean of Planning and Institutional Development of UFABC. “With this resource zero, practically nullifies the ability of the institutions to do works and exchange equipment,” he says.
In the case of the federal ABC, for example, the removal of these funds affected two constructions: that of a technological innovation complex and that of a cultural complex in Santo André. According to him, with the amendments, both would be open and also serving the surrounding population and the productive sector.
UFSCar said the loss of funds “compromised infrastructure investment, such as works, renovations and equipment purchase”. Unifesp said that “the lack of this resource will directly impact the maintenance of the existing infrastructure”.
The IFSP, in turn, said it was able to keep projects planned for 2024 because it articulated more individual amendments with congressmen, “however without getting new fronts.”
Sought, Tarcísio management replied that the initiative of the agreement came from the bench and “allowed important advances in health and safety in”. He also said that congressmen’s nominations can be transparently consulted on the Secretariat of Government website.
The decision to maintain the pact in 2025 was taken on December 3, when the São Paulo parliamentarians gathered in Brasilia. This year, however, the arrangement includes much more resources. The R $ 316 million from the bench last year rose to R $ 528 million now expected, which is still.
“With this high value, we suggest that they resume the $ 40 million for the universities and used the rest, which would still be quite, for the political agreement. We were heard by both parties, but in practice it did not generate,” says Pansarelli of UFABC.
According to him, representatives of the universities even traveled to the federal capital for the meeting, as well as other entities, as they traditionally participated in the meetings. The discussion, however, was made at closed doors. The minutes cites a consensus among the 34 congressmen present, 8 of the PL and 6 of the.
The report sought deputy Arnaldo Jardim (citizenship), current coordinator of the São Paulo bench, but he declined to speak.
Deputy Alencar Santana (PT), one of the Government’s vice-leaders in the House, states that he and other opposition deputies to the governor were opposed to the agreement, both at the 2023 and 2024 meeting, but the decision was collegiate.
Although they also gained the nomination of $ 10 million in state funds, he denies that the negotiation benefited everyone and evaluates that it was only good for the government: “I went against universities, and because I understand that Tarcisio would gain an advantage that we did not want,” he says.
In addition to bench amendments, federal universities often receive individual parliamentarians amendments, but they usually go to more specific projects that “marry” with the objectives of politicians. Therefore, there is a certain fear among institutions to harm dialogue with congressmen.
