Minister says she will present a “real spending review” in the 2nd half of 2025, in addition to combating fraud, with a view to the 2026 Budget
The Minister of Planning, Simone Tebetsaid this Saturday (Aug 31, 2024) that he will deliver the planning of a “real spending review” in the 2nd half of 2025, targeting the 2026 Budget. He stated that the cuts will go beyond the current focus of combating fraud and should also encompass the review of subsidies and the linking of benefits to the minimum wage.
“We have fats [para cortar]. So far, we have only been talking about fraud, errors and waste. So, in addition to this vertical analysis, we will have a menu of measures so that we can modernize public policies, modernize the link between these policies and the minimum wage, for example. And integrate these public policies. It is possible to do this without taking away the rights of those who need them most.”he said.
Tebet said his ministry prepares “a strategic plan that involves what we can already do and what we have to wait for” and that “the right time for a true review of spending will be in the second half of next year, aiming for 2026”. The statements were made during XP Expert 2024, an event hosted by the investment brokerage firm XPin Sao Paulo.
Following the president’s line Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva (PT), the minister positioned herself against the unlinking of pensions from the real increase in the minimum wage, which increases the deficit in Social Security. But she said, without mentioning which ones, that there are other benefits that can be unlinked.
“The increase in the minimum wage is not a problem. It keeps the economy moving. The problem is linking this to all social policies. And I’m not even talking about retirement. We don’t need to change retirement. We have other mechanisms to ensure that we have fiscal stability and the surplus needed to stabilize the debt.”he said.
The broad spending cuts program promised by Tebet will have four axes, according to her. The first, already being implemented, is aimed at eliminating fraud in social benefits, errors and waste.
The others will be:
- shading/contrasting benefits, integrating public policies that have the same objective into one;
- review of links to the minimum wage;
- review of subsidies that “no longer serve the public interest”.
According to Tebet, the initial phase aimed at combating fraud has already yielded results. “We emerged from a pandemic in which public policy rules were very lax. Since people couldn’t leave their homes, they couldn’t charge beneficiaries for life tests. With that, we were able to cut almost R$12 billion from Bolsa Família without taking away anyone’s rights.”he stated.
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