Mechanism consists of transferring resources directly to states and municipalities; law prohibits transfers after July 6
The president’s government Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva (PT) paid Congress more than R$4.25 billion in special transfer amendments, known in politics as Pix amendments in just 1 day.
The transfers were made during the week of the Executive’s amendment payment deadline. This is because the Electoral Law 9,504 prohibits “voluntary transfers” from the Union to states and municipalities in the 3 months preceding the elections. The first round of the municipal elections is scheduled for October 6.
The data is available on the website Follow Brazilthe Senate’s federal budget information system. As the portal is delayed by 1 day, the values refer to Wednesday (3.Jul.2024) and were compared with the previous day, Tuesday (2.Jul).
Last week, the Executive committed R$7.68 billion. In the commitment, the amount is reserved and the Executive assumes the payment commitment.
On Tuesday (2 July), the Pix amendments paid corresponded to R$232.464 million.
It is important to note that the process for submitting amendments to the Budget is 100% legal and legitimate. In many democracies, members of Congress present investment proposals for their areas of activity.
What makes the process questionable is the criteria for releasing funds by the Executive. Sometimes, the money is only released when the government needs support from the Legislature to approve projects.
The action is widely used by Lula, including during the PT member’s other two terms.
This robust transfer was carried out in the week in which deputies mobilized to vote on the regulation of tax reform, an issue of interest to the government.
PIX AMENDMENTS
In 2019, the National Congress approved the constitutional amendment 105which created the special transfer modality.
The mechanism allows congressmen to allocate resources directly to states and municipalities “without the need for prior formalization of agreements, presentation of projects or technical approval from the federal government”.
Opposing entities claim that there is little transparency in this type of transfer, which led to the nickname “Pix amendment” due to the speed of the process.
#Lula #government #pays #R4.2 #billion #Pix #amendments #day