Budget creates dispute between Congress, government
The drastic cuts in funds for social programs, such as the Green Yellow House, Infrastructure for Basic Education, Youth and Adult Education, Road to School and subsidy for medicines in the federal budget bill for 2023 are the visible tip of a silent battle waged behind the scenes of power.On the one hand, lawmakers will have an unprecedented volume of funds to direct to their electoral bases: R$38 billion, of which R$19 billion for rapporteur’s amendments, the so-called "secret budget" - public funds earmarked for discretionary use by lawmakers. On the other hand, the government wants them to take responsibility for the consequences of the increased volume of amendments in a lean budget: some public policies will be left without funds.In one example of friction, the economic team previously directed R$3.5 billion in funds reserved for the rapporteur’s amendments to the Economy Ministry, as a "contribution" from Congress to raise public service salaries. Lawmakers may disagree and use the money for something else. However, they will run the risk of being held accountable by civil servants.According to a staffer from the economic team, several government actions were left with a minimum provision of funds, just to appear in the budget. However, their appropriations are expected to be complemented by means of congressional earmarks. This solution appears in several points of the budget bill.A study prepared jointly by the budget consultancies of the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate shows that, in the Ministry of Education, some government programs have faced cuts of more than 90% compared to 2022, and were left with very low provision of funds.This is the case, for example, of the "Support to the Operation of Higher Education Federal Institutions" program, which has a budget of R$1 million, 97.4% less than this year. The "Support to Infrastructure for Basic Education" program had a drop of 97.1%, with R$3.5 million. The "Road to School," which was created for purchases of vehicles to transport primary education students, had a 95.8% drop, with a budget of R$425,000.Lucas Hoogerbrugge, government relations leader at NGO Todos pela Educação, highlights cuts in two other programs. The "Support for the Development of Basic Education" provides funds for full-time secondary education, a policy that has stood out for helping to keep young people in school amid the evasion seen since the pandemic. "We have had signs of a huge contraction," he said...
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