Last Tuesday night (21) the National Congress approved the final report of the 2022 budget bill. The matter goes to presidential approval.
Next year’s Budget forecasts total expenditure for 2022 at R$4.82 trillion, of which R$1.88 trillion refers to the refinancing of public debt.
The text was approved in a separate session of the National Congress, as has happened due to the Covid-19 pandemic. among the deputies, the proposal was approved by 358 votes in favor and 97 against. In the Senate, the text passed 51 votes to 20.
The 2022 Budget grants an additional R$ 2 billion for the adjustment of Executive Power civil servants, allocates R$ 800 million for the adjustment of community health agents and sets the Electoral Fund at R$ 4.934 billion. The increase for servers had already been rejected by the rapporteur, Deputy Hugo Leal (PSD-RJ), but it was made possible after an agreement between lawmakers and budget cuts.
The text also foresees an increase in resources for education. The Budget foresees R$ 113.4 billion in the maintenance and development of education in 2022. The Union’s complementation to the National Fund for Basic Education (Fundeb) will be R$ 30.1 billion.
The 2022 Budget proposal sets the minimum wage at R$1,210 for the next year. This amount represents an increase of 10.04% in relation to the current minimum wage of R$1.1 thousand. The variation corresponds to the official projection of the Economic Policy Secretariat (SPE) of the Ministry of Economy for the National Consumer Price Index (INPC) for this year. Which would indicate another year without real gains (adjustment above inflation).
In the Executive Branch’s original project, financing for electoral campaigns would have BRL 2.1 billion next year. The value was readjusted by the parliamentarians and, in the first version of the report, R$ 5.1 billion would be earmarked. The final amount approved in the Budget for public financing for the 2022 election was R$4.9 billion. During the vote in the Senate, lawmakers tried to reduce this amount, but were defeated.
The 2022 Budget allocates R$89 billion for the payment of Auxílio Brasil, in the amount of R$400 monthly per family. In the original project, sent by the Executive Branch, it allocated R$ 34.7 billion. Health expenditures, on the other hand, grew by R$ 15 billion compared to the original proposal sent by the Executive Branch, reaching more than R$ 160 billion.
In the final report, the rapporteur’s amendments add up to R$ 16.5 billion and will meet 30 different schedules. The main ones are the cost of primary health care services (BRL 4.68 billion) and hospital and outpatient care services (BRL 2.6 billion).
