Almost 4,000 basic education projects are on hold during the Lula Government

The government of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) did not resume any of the almost four thousand works stopped in the area of ​​basic education, despite the promises made since the beginning of the mandate. There was no progress in the construction of schools, daycare centers, sports courts and expansion renovations in 1,664 municipalities. The data was collected by the newspaper Folha de S. Paulo.

Around 80% of the projects are located in the North and Northeast. Only the states of Maranhão, Pará, Bahia and Ceará are awaiting the resumption of 50% of construction, but, to date, no term of commitment with the city halls – one of the first steps – has even been signed. Another point is that 90% of unfinished projects began to be built at least ten years ago, between 2007 and 2014 – that is, during the governments of Lula and Dilma Rousseff (PT). Only 5% started after 2019, already under the administration of Jair Bolsonaro (PL).

Even 10 months after the publication of a provisional measure that would facilitate the renegotiation of works, there was no significant progress. Still according to Sheetthe slowness of the MEC and the National Education Development Fund (FNDE) has caused pressure against Minister Camilo Santana, responsible for the department.

Difficulties with the MEC’s ​​budget are nothing new. In November 2023, the department had not implemented a cent of the R$801 million planned for literacy actions. Such as People’s Gazette showed, 13 days before the end of the year, the ministry needed to execute 42% of the amendments intended by parliamentarians.

In relation to the stopped works, the FNDE stated that the resumption depends on the federative entities. Bureaucracy, especially in collecting and adapting the necessary documentation, makes the process difficult.