Former Minister of Finance and Planning, Nelson Barbosa, a member of the government transition team, said today (21), in Brasília, that an additional expenditure of R$ 136 billion beyond the ceiling would not generate a fiscal expansion of the government.
“The budget that was sent for 2023 has an expense, in proportion to GDP [Produto Interno Bruto]lower than in 2022. This year, the Bolsonaro government will spend, according to the last bimonthly report, 18.9% of GDP,” said Barbosa, in conversation with journalists at the Centro Cultural Banco do Brasil (CCBB), in Brasília, where the transition team works.
“For next year, the government proposed a spending of 17.6% of GDP, significantly lower than that year. It means that if you add up to R$ 136 billion in the budget, in terms of the size of the economy, it will not be fiscal expansion “, assured.
spending cap
Last week, the transition team presented to the National Congress a proposal for a constitutional amendment to permanently exclude payment of the Bolsa Família program from the spending cap rule. Spending is estimated at BRL 175 billion and would make it possible to maintain the minimum amount of BRL 600 for the program, currently called Auxílio Brasil, in addition to establishing an additional amount of BRL 150 per child under six years of age for each beneficiary. The measure is one of the campaign commitments of President-elect Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT).
Another member of the transition team, Senator Randolfe Rodrigues (Rede-AP) said that the PEC suggestion is being finalized by Senator Marcelo Castro (MDB-PI), budget rapporteur in the National Congress. At least 27 senator signatures are required for the text to be analyzed by the Senate.
“What we need in a transitional PEC is to have a fiscal margin to cover, for example, a basic and elementary need of Brazilians, which is a social income distribution program”, he told journalists at the CCBB.
