Lula government blocks R$ 332 million from education

After increasing in 60% the number of ministries and spend BRL 2.6 million with a corporate card on the trips it has already taken this year, the government of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva decided to avoid a hole in public accounts by blocking Education resources. The decision was taken by decree on the 28th and freezes BRL 332 million earmarked for children’s literacy, school transportation and scholarships.

According to data from the Integrated Planning and Budget System (Siop), collected by the Contas Abertas entity and sent to Gazeta do Povo this Friday (4), the cuts in the Ministry of Education hit mainly basic education (BRL 201 million).

were also blocked BRL 50 million for research grants in higher education, BRL 11 million that would be invested in Professional and Technological Education, BRL 51 million for the modernization of federal educational institutions, about BRL 1 million for the purchase of school transport vehicles, and more than BRL 7 million for state education programs.

With the decision, the amounts will only be released if the government verifies that there is no risk of breaching the spending ceiling, something difficult to occur due to the increase in spending in other sectors, and which leaves teachers and students with no guarantee that they will have the expected transfer. .

According to the general secretary of Contas Abertas, Gil Castello Branco, “the ideal would be for the cuts to occur in expenses such as airline tickets, per diem, property rental, vacation 60 days of the judiciary, in super salaries, in the number of advisors to parliamentarians and others”.

However, he explains that the government does not make these cuts because “they do not have enough scale for the necessary adjustments or because they are seen as politically unfeasible”.