Reduction of Economy Minister’s Powers to Avert Uncertainty, Says Government

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The General Secretariat of the Presidency announced on Tuesday, March 3rd, that the decision to remove the delegated assignment of the Minister of Economy, Paulo Guedes, on some budget actions aims to “avert potential uncertainties arising from the tax budget”.

The portfolio concedes that the measure can be reviewed after deliberation in Congress on the control of part of public money.

“The aim of the measure is to avert potential uncertainties arising from the tax budget and its appropriate regulation, hence it is convenient that the issue of measures remain within the remit of the President of the Republic until budget adjustments have been duly determined,” says a note from the General Secretariat.

Congress met in a joint session on Tuesday afternoon to analyze presidential vetoes, including Bolsonaro’s veto of the proposal that makes it mandatory to implement the budget amendment riders proposed by the general rapporteur for the budget, a position currently held by Deputy Domingos Neto.

To the newspaper O Estado de S. Paulo, qualified sources from the Ministry of Economy reported that the Planalto decision is a bureaucratic matter.

The economic team’s technical assessment is that the government cannot use the ordinance to operate the budget under the current rules. “It is nothing serious, only a bureaucratic measure in view of our understanding of the budget today,” assured the source. The technical assessment showed that a decree is required, an instrument signed by the President of the Republic.

The tax budget was approved in 2019 by Proposed Amendments to Constitution Nº 100 and 102. The rule states that the Executive Branch has the “duty” to execute the budget riders, adopting the means and measures required to this end, the exceptions being: 1) lack of money, 2) technical impediment and 3) reallocation of expenditure, also with the approval of Congress.

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