The National Treasury paid, in July, R $ 505.26 million in delayed states of states. Of this total, most of them, R $ 188.21 million, is related to delays of payment of the government of Minas Gerais. Then came the payment of debts of R $ 89.45 million from Rio Grande do Norte and R $ 79.74 million from the state of Rio de Janeiro.
The Union also covered, last month, debts of R $ 74.71 million from Rio Grande do Sul and R $ 73.16 million from Goiás. In July, the federal government honored R $ 72.75 thousand of delayed debts from the municipality of Santanópolis (BA).
The data are in the Union guarantee report in credit operations, released on Friday (15) by the National Treasury Secretariat. The guarantees are executed by the federal government when a state or municipality is defaulting in some credit operation. In this case, the Treasury covers the default, but retains transfers from the union to the debtor until the difference is paid, charging a fine and interest.
In accumulated of the year, the Union paid R $ 6.392 billion of delay in subnational entities. Of this total, R $ 2.387 billion fell to the state of Rio de Janeiro, R $ 2.378 billion to Minas Gerais, R $ 899.34 million to Rio Grande do Sul, R $ 518.21 million to Goiás and R $ 209.09 thousand to Rio Grande do Norte.
In 2025, the National Treasury honored R $ 59.85 million of four municipalities: Taubaté (SP), with R $ 33.27 million; São Gonçalo do Amarante (RN), with R $ 15.18 million; Igatu (CE), with R $ 2.47 million; and Santanópolis (BA), with R $ 500 thousand.
The guarantees honored by the Treasury are discounted from the transfers of the Union to the federated entities – such as revenues of the Funds of Participation and Tax on Circulation of Goods and Services (ICMS), among others. Regarding the delay obligations apply interest, default and other operating costs regarding the period between the salary of the debt and the effective honor of the values by the Union.
Tax Recovery Regime
In recent years, decisions of the Federal Supreme Court (STF) have prevented the enforcement of the contraction of several states in financial difficulty. Subsequently, the Court measured negotiations for the inclusion or continuity of state governments in the Fiscal Recovery Regime (RRF), which provides for installment and scaling of debts with the Union in exchange for a spending adjustment plan. In recent years, Goiás, Rio de Janeiro and Rio Grande do Sul have closed agreements with the federal government.
At the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Court granted an injunction to suspend the execution of guarantees in several states. Some counterarguments of Minas Gerais were also not executed because of injunctions granted by the Supreme.
With the adhesion of the State of Rio de Janeiro to the RRF, at the end of 2017, the State was able to hire new credit operations with a guarantee of the Union, even though it is defaulting. At the end of 2020, the STF Minister Luiz Fux granted injunction keeping Rio de Janeiro in the tax recovery regime. In June last year, the State, in agreement mediated by the STF, concluded the negotiations with the Union to continue in the RRF.
Rio Grande do Sul
Also in June 2022, Rio Grande do Sul closed agreement with the Union and had the fiscal recovery plan approved. The plan allows the state to be staggered again, the Union’s debt, whose payment has been suspended on an injunction of the Federal Supreme Court since July 2017. In return, the Gaucho Government should execute a fiscal adjustment program that provides for privatization and renovations to reduce local spending.
Because of the floods in the state, in May, the Union suspended the payment of the debt for 36 months. In addition, interest that corrects the debt annually, around 4% per year plus inflation, will be forgiven for the same period. The state debt inventory with the Union is about R $ 100 billion today and, with the suspension of the installments, the State will have R $ 11 billion to be used in reconstruction actions.
Goiás and Minas Gerais
In May 2020, the STF authorized the Government to join the tax recovery package in exchange for the adoption of a state spending ceiling. In December 2021, Goiás signed the adhesion to the RRF, which allows the suspension of debt payment with the Union in exchange for a spending adjustment plan.
The last state to join the RRF was Minas Gerais. The special regime came into force on January 1 and runs until December 31, 2033. Since October 2024, the State had been setting off debt installments with the Union under the RRF, following an agreement approved by the STF Minister Nunes Marques.
The Minas Gerais government must adopt structural spending cutting measures, according to the requirements provided for in the complementary law that created the RRF. The Union is authorized to issue the contract with the sending of the consolidated amount of the mining debt portion and the commitment signed by the State to comply with all obligations and inspections arising from the RRF.
Debt Payment Program
From April 15 to December 31 this year, states can join the State Debt Payment Program (Propag). The program provides for a number of conditions, such as sales of assets to the Union and a spending cutting plan for the release of up to R $ 20 billion in investments by the states.
Propag provides discounts on interest and installment of state debt balance within 30 years. In return, states that join will contribute funds to the Federative Equalization Fund (FEF), which will distribute money to all states that adhere, even those who do not have debts with the Union, for investment in education, public safety, sanitation, housing, transport and other areas.
