Parliamentary amendments have been used even to pay compulsory rates in Brazil to the (United Nations) and finance employees of consulates from the country abroad, including psychologists and lawyers who mainly attend Brazilian in cities such as, and.
With a portion of the budget in the hand of Congress, the Ministry of Planning and Budget – responsible for payments to international organizations – have also sought funds from the legislature for actions outside the country.
Since 2020, deputies and senators have allocated R $ 19 million to these actions, considering the amounts already paid and corrected by inflation, according to data from the platform. They were executed in both (PL) management and (PT).
A Sheet He analyzed these transfers, whose existence surprised researchers, technicians and consulted parliamentary advisors who deal daily with amendments. Normally, congressmen usually send resources to works and projects on their electoral bases.
Experts generally criticize the dimension that amendments with changes in the Constitution made by Congress, which generated a fragmented allocation of federal resources.
The amendments used abroad are a small part of the total of R $ 118 billion paid in the last five years, but have also quintained in comparison between 2020 and 2024. In this case, the amounts are budgeted in dollars, so the amount sometimes paid is higher than expected (committed).
Almost half of the amount that ended abroad came from Congress Foreign Commissions. At the government’s request, in 2023, the group of divided about R $ 9 million between the UN and the Criminal Court, while the House allocated its R $ 333,000 to the International Coffee Organization (OIC).
According to Itamaraty, the transfers referred to the “discharge of Brazilian obligations with international organizations, […] which is fundamental for Brazil’s diplomatic performance in the international scenario, preventing the country from suffering embarrassment and sanctions, including the loss of voting rights. “
The Ministry of Planning also stated that “such contributions are classified as mandatory continuing expenses,” but did not respond why it needed amendments to pay them that year.
The other half of the amendments used abroad is individual, from 26 congressmen. Seven of the ten names that made the biggest indications are from the party, being at the top of the list Deputies Maria Rosas (SP), Rosangela Gomes (RJ, Licensed) and Gilberto Abramo (MG), leader of the acronym in the House.
The caption says it has received a proposal from Itamaraty to collaborate with actions abroad and accepted it, asking parliamentarians to meet the ministry’s request: “Since 2020, it is thanks to the parliamentary amendments of Republicans deputies that many initiatives abroad remain,” he says.
Among the 309 beneficiaries of the amendments applied in other countries, as well as international organizations, entities and companies, the report identified 75 proper names of service providers who received R $ 2.3 million in the period, through individuals or legal entities.
According to Itamaraty and Republicans, most of these professionals work in the spaces of Brazilian women, a project that emerged in 2017 and today exists in nine consulates in the US, Europe and Argentina. In practice, they are hired consultants to assist Brazilian immigrants in vulnerable situations.
In addition to them, the amendments help to play psychologists and lawyers from the units, which also serve these women. Professionals go through local selection process, have temporary contracts and receive in dollars for hours worked. Most also demonstrate acting privately.
Psychologist Virna Moretti, for example, was the seventh largest benefited by amendments abroad.
She received $ 280,000 in the last year, an average of $ 23,000 per month, for the Brazilian Consulate-General in Miami, where the maximum workload is 40 hours per week. With the currency variation, payment for one month of work went from $ 19,000 in February 2024 to $ 28,000 in December.
Sought, she stated that she has a training in both countries and usually meets delicate cases involving human trafficking, domestic violence and other crimes, “work of extreme responsibility and sensitivity.” “The amount paid for such services over this period has remained clearly below the corresponding average remuneration in the US,” he said.
In New York, Brazilian Danielly Ortiz and Stephanie Mulcock received $ 217,000 and $ 191,000 since June 2022, respectively, for “consulting services for the Brazilian Women’s Space”. In Boston, marketing businesswoman Juliana Ávila Lobo received $ 180,000 for “administrative, technical and operational support services”.
A consular employee who did not want to identify says that the budget available for Brazilian foreign policy is insufficient and classifies the use of amendments as a “pull”. For him, however, in this case the money is being well used.
Marina ATOJI, from NGO Transparency Brazil, claims to be “surprising that consular representations do not have enough resources” and also have to have amendments. “It has become common some actions or programs to be dependent on amendments,” he says.
Asked why they had to resort to these funds, Itamaraty replied that the amendments only “reinforce the budget allocation ‘assistance to Brazilians abroad’ and allow the expansion and diversification of the support provided to Brazilians abroad by specialized professionals”.
The two deputies who have sent the most funds also advocate the importance of the project and say that the money is in line with its performance in defense of women.
Maria Rosas is 1st Assistant Prosecutor of Women in the Chamber and Rosangela Gomes, today State Secretary of Social Assistance in RJ, was president of the Brazil-Eua Friendship Parliamentary Group and the Women’s Network of the Community of Portuguese-Speaking Countries (CPLP).
