Two years of misgovernment – ​​the numbers of deconstruction

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By NELSON CARDOSO AMARAL*

A quantitative balance of the degree of destruction resulting from various government actions

After two years of Jair Bolsonaro's government, it is already possible to examine the expenses incurred in the years 2019 and 2020, in addition to those foreseen in the budget proposal for 2021. In this article, we will evaluate how the resources associated with the following Budgetary Functions behaved: Education, Health, Culture, Environmental Management, Science and Technology, Special Charges: Debt Refinancing. Special Charges: Interest, Charges and Debt Amortization and National Defense.

In addition to these Functions, the evolution of expenses incurred with the 69 Federal Universities (UFs), with the Federal Institutes of Education, Science and Technology (IFs), 38 institutions and two Federal Centers of Technological Education (CEFETs), with the National Fund for the Development of Education (FNDE), with the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq), with the Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel (Capes) and with the National Fund for Scientific and Technological Development (FNDCT).

The analyzes will be carried out with the evolution of the financial resources applied in the period 2014-2020 and foreseen for the year 2021. The retreat to the year 2014 is justified by the fact that it was the year in which presidential elections were held with the reelection of Dilma Rousseff and from this fact there was the plot that culminated in the impeachment of Dilma Rousseff (2016), commanded by Federal Deputy Eduardo Cunha, then president of the Chamber of Deputies, in the assumption of Michel Temer in the presidency (2016), the arrest of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (2018-2019), reaching 2018 with the election of Jair Bolsonaro for the 2019 to 2022 term. It should be noted that throughout this period, from 17/03/2014 to 01/02/2021, Operation Lava Jato was active, using actions that contradicted the Democratic and Rule of Law State, participated in the entire process, from the impeachment from Dilma Rousseff to the election of Bolsonaro.

With Michel Temer there was a resurgence of liberal ideals and there was the implementation of a New Fiscal Regime (NRF) with the approval of Constitutional Amendment No.o 95 (EC-95) which froze primary expenses (payment of wages, water, electricity, internet, surveillance, cleaning, outsourced workers, purchase of consumables, construction, purchase of equipment and furniture, etc.) for twenty years (BRASIL. EC-95, 2016), the beginning of the discussion on the Social Security reform, which took place in 2019, implementation of reforms in the labor sector, reform of Secondary Education, changes in Petrobras, etc.

With Jair Bolsonaro, the government's main objective was to deconstruct and undo what had been done since the approval of the 1988 Federal Constitution (BRASIL.CF, 1988). This objective is expressed in the Government Program, “The Path to Prosperity”, published in 1988 when it states that “In the last 30 years, cultural Marxism and its derivations with gramcism have joined corrupt oligarchies to undermine the values ​​of the Nation and the family brazilian” (PROGRAMA DE GOVERNO BOLSONARO, 2018) and, based on this diagnosis, in Washington in March 2019 when Bolsonaro stated “We have to deconstruct a lot. Undo a lot of things to start doing later. That I serve so that, at least, I can be a turning point, I am already very happy”, concluding that “Our Brazil was moving towards socialism, towards communism” (LÁZARO, 2019).

The deconstruction and undoing that appear in government actions are, therefore, based on these governmental premises (EDITORIAL E&S, 2021).

This study therefore aims to examine the level of deconstruction/undoing contained in various government actions that were selected. Among the actions are included the refinancing of the debt, the payment of interest, charges and amortization of the debt and the resources invested in national defense. Since these actions are sensitive to the ultraneoliberal project present in the Bolsonaro government (LEHER, 2019), a question is in order here: was there a deconstruction/dismantling of these two fields, financial expenses and national defense?

Next, we will first analyze the resources associated with the various Functions selected for this study, and then present the financial resources applied in institutions and agencies: UFs, IFs, CEFETs, FNDE, Capes, CNPq and FNDCT.

The financial resources applied in selected Budget Functions

The Budgetary Functions, in a number of 28 functions, make the “aggregation of the various areas of expenditure that are incumbent on the public sector” (BRASIL. ORDINANCE No 42, §1, Art. 1º, 1999), are classified in the following areas of expenditure: Legislative, Judiciary, Essential to Justice, Administration, National Defense, Public Security, Foreign Affairs, Social Assistance, Social Security, Health, Work, Education, Culture, Citizenship Rights, Urbanism, Housing, Sanitation, Environmental Management, Science and Technology, Agriculture, Agrarian Organization, Industry, Commerce and Services, Communications, Energy, Transport, Sports and Leisure, and Special Charges. (BRASIL. ORDINANCE No.o 42, Appendix, 1999).

The National Institute of Educational Studies and Research Anísio Teixeira (INEP) separates these functions into two main strands, those associated with areas classified by INEP as social and areas classified as non-social. Those classified as belonging to the social areas, in a total of 13 Functions, are the following: Sports and Leisure, Agrarian Organization, Housing, Urbanism, Citizenship Rights, Work, Education, Health, Culture, Sanitation, Social Security, Public Security, Assistance Social. (BRASIL.INEP, 2021). The remaining 15 functions are classified as belonging to budgetary sectors that are not related to social sectors.

We will explain below the evolution of expenses settled in the period 2014-2021, with the value for 2021 being the probable amount to be settled, considering the ratio expense settled/expense authorized in the Annual Budget Law (LOA), average value for 2014 to 2020. The process of effecting a public expenditure has, among others, the commitment, liquidation and payment stages. The settlement stage – considered here – takes effect when the object of the expense has already been incurred; for example, this occurs when desks are purchased for classrooms and they have already been delivered and are available for use. The next step is payment to the company that manufactured and delivered the wallets.

The amounts presented are in BRL, corrected for January 2021, according to the Extended National Consumer Price Index (IPCA) published by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE). The values ​​for the 2014-2020 period were obtained from the Federal Budget Execution (BRASIL.CAMARA DOS DEPUTADOS, 2021) and the proposal for 2021 are those established in the Annual Budget Law Project (PLOA) (BRASIL.CAMARA DOS DEPUTADOS, 2021) .

We selected for this study the presentation of the evolutions in the period 2014-2021 of the following Functions: Education, Health, Culture, Environmental Management, Science and Technology, Special Charges: Debt Refinancing, Special Charges: Interest, Charges and Debt Amortization, and Defense National.

The Education Function

The behavior of financial resources associated with the Education Function in the period 2014-2021 can be seen in Graph 1.

graphic 1 – EDUCATION FUNCTION: financial resources in the period 2014-2021.

Source: (BRASIL. CHAMBER OF DEPUTIES, 2021)

A persistent drop can be seen in the period under review, moving from the level of R$ 130,0 billion to between R$ 90,0 billion and R$ 100,0 billion, with the variation from 2014 to 2020 – the highest value and the lowest value of the series – was R$ (-37,7) billion. This drop means a 28,5% reduction in resources for the Education Function.

The Health Function

The resources associated with the Health Function are shown in Graph 2.

graphic 2 – HEALTH FUNCTION: financial resources in the period 2014-2021.

Source: (BRASIL. CHAMBER OF DEPUTIES, 2021)

In this case, the values ​​went from a little higher than BRL 130,0 billion in 2014 to the level of BRL 120,0 billion between 2015 and 2019 and a forecast for 2021 of just over BRL 100,0 billion. The year 2020 behaved atypically due to the release of special resources to respond to the Pandemic caused by the coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2), which resulted in Covid-19. The fall in values ​​from 2014 to 2021 amounts to BRL (-28,7) billion, which represents a drop of 21,6% in 2021, compared to 2014.

The Culture Function

The Culture Function had the evolution of its financial resources as shown in Graph 3.

graphic 3 – CULTURE FUNCTION: financial resources in the period 2014-2021.

Source: (BRASIL. CHAMBER OF DEPUTIES, 2021)

There was, therefore, a drastic drop in this Function from 2014 to 2020, going from values ​​a little higher than R$ 2,5 billion to very small values, in the order of R$ 200 million; a reduction of R$ (-2,3) billion in this period. This reduction meant a 90,2% drop in 2020 values ​​compared to 2014. There is a recovery in the budget proposal for 2020, to R$ 703,0 million, a value still far from that of 2014.

The Environmental Management Function

The Environmental Management Function will suffer, from 2014 to 2021, a reduction of BRL (-7,1) billion, as shown in graph 4.

graphic 4 – ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT FUNCTION: financial resources in the period 2014-2021.

Source: (BRASIL. CHAMBER OF DEPUTIES, 2021)

The values ​​suffered an abrupt drop from 2014 to 2015, going from values ​​close to R$ 10,0 billion to R$ 4,0 billion. From 2016 to 2020 there was an oscillation around R$ 4,0 billion, falling again abruptly to R$ 1,0 billion in 2021. In relation to the value of 2014 there was a reduction of 74,2% in the period under analysis .

The Science and Technology Function

The analysis of the resources associated with the Science and Technology Function shows a profile of dramatic reduction. Graph 5 presents the values ​​for the period under analysis.

graphic 5 – SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY FUNCTION: financial resources in the period 2014-2021.

Source: (BRASIL. CHAMBER OF DEPUTIES, 2021)

Values ​​around R$12,0 billion were invested in 2014 and, in 2021, the forecast is that R$5,0 billion will be invested; a drop of BRL (-6,7) billion. This represents a 57,1% reduction in the financial resources applied to this Function.

So far, we have analyzed Functions linked to sectors that were under open attack since the beginning of the impeachment plot and, later, explicitly, by the governments that took office post-impeachment of Dilma Rousseff, starting with Michel Temer and characterizing itself, as we have already examined, in a project of deconstructing and undoing from 2019, with Jair Bolsonaro. The visual examination of the graphs presented for the Functions Education, Health, Culture, Environmental Management and Science and Technology leaves no doubt about the fulfillment of this order issued by the groups (LEHER, 2019) that assumed power at the federal level from January of 2019.

Examining, however, what happened with the actions associated with Debt Refinancing, the payment of Interest, Charges and Debt Amortization and the National Defense Function, the behavior of budgetary resources in the period 2014-2021 changes completely. Graphs 6 and 7 show how Debt Refinancing and the payment of Interest, Charges and Amortization behaved.

graphic 6 – SPECIAL CHARGES FUNCTION: DEBT REFINANCING: financial resources in the period 2014-2021.

Source: (BRASIL. CHAMBER OF DEPUTIES, 2021)

graphic 7 – SPECIAL CHARGES FUNCTION: INTEREST, CHARGES AND DEBT AMORTIZATION: financial resources in the period 2014-2021.

Source: (BRASIL. CHAMBER OF DEPUTIES, 2021)

In 2014, debt refinancing amounted to BRL 800,0 billion, falling to BRL 500,0 billion in 2019 and a sharp increase in 2020 and 2021, when it is expected to reach amounts in excess of BRL 1,1 trillion.

The payment of interest, charges and debt amortization had a growing profile in 2014, from R$ 400,0 billion, to more than R$ 650,0 billion in 2020 and there is a forecast for a decrease in 2021, to the level of R$ $500,0 billion.

A coupled analysis of these two graphs leads us to conclude that the drop in the need for refinancing, from 2014 to 2019, was due to a higher payment of interest, charges and debt amortization in the same period. The increase in debt refinancing is due to two main factors: indebtedness due to the high resources linked to the Pandemic; and the increase in public debt to pay part of the federal government's primary expenditures by breaking the so-called Golden Rule, which occurs when the government has to issue bonds in addition to the amounts associated with expenditures classified as investments. In this case, the National Congress is responsible for authorizing the issuance of debt securities to pay the primary expenses of the federal government.

Comparing the profiles of these two graphs with the previous ones – always with drastic drops – indicates that the financial sector is a priority in this period. This reflects the content of EC-95, which froze primary expenditures for twenty years and did not establish any limits for expenditures linked to this sector.

The National Defense Function had its financial values, from 2014 to 2021 with the profile shown in Graph 8.

graphic 8 – NATIONAL DEFENSE FUNCTION: financial resources in the period 2014-2021.

Source: (BRASIL. CHAMBER OF DEPUTIES, 2021)

From 2015 to 2019 there was an increase of R$ 37,6 billion in resources associated with the National Defense Function, with a decrease occurring in 2020 and 2021. This reduction will still mean an increase of R$ 25 billion compared to the value of 2015. In the case of National Defense, a profile completely opposite to that of the functions discussed above can be seen, which leads us to state that National Defense was considered a priority, compared to Education, Health, Culture, Environmental Management and Science and Technology.

This result makes clear a condition established in the EC-95, which is that this EC froze the primary expenditures of the Executive branch and not of each of the sectors that make up this power. It is, therefore, a deliberation of the federal government when it prepares proposals for budgetary laws and of the National Congress when it approves them, to establish the priority sectors. And, in this period, in addition to financial expenses, National Defense was placed in this priority condition.

The financial resources applied in the Federal Universities

The Federal Universities (UFs) constitute, in 2021, a set of 69 institutions that have fields in all states of the federation and in the Federal District.

We will analyze the evolution of the UFs' resources – without considering the resources invested in University Hospitals – in three aspects: the payment of Personnel, professors and technical-administrative staff, which includes the payment of retirees and pensioners; the payment of expenses related to the maintenance of the institutions in the so-called Other Current Expenses: the payment of water, electricity, internet, surveillance, cleaning, outsourced workers, purchase of consumables, etc.; and expenses with buildings, acquisition of equipment and furniture, etc., the so-called Investment resources.

Personnel payments rose from amounts between R$39,0 billion and R$40,0 billion in 2014 to amounts of around R$49,0 billion in 2019, falling in 2020 and 2021 by an amount of R$ (- 874,0) million compared to 2019. Graph 9 shows these values.

graphic 9 – Evolution of financial resources associated with the payment of Personnel of Federal Universities, in the period 2014-2021.

Source: (BRASIL. CHAMBER OF DEPUTIES, 2021)

Financial resources for paying teaching and technical-administrative staff show a growth profile from 2014 to 2019 and a decline in 2020 and 2021. The growth is due to readjustments approved before the Temer Government, career advancements, retirees who remain on the payroll, etc. The indicated decreases already show wage erosion due to inflation.

The values ​​applied to Other Current Expenses are shown in graph 10.

graphic 10 – Evolution of financial resources associated with the payment of Other Current Expenses of Federal Universities, in the period 2014-2021.

Source: (BRASIL. CHAMBER OF DEPUTIES, 2021)

There is a drastic reduction in resources to pay for water, electricity, internet, surveillance, cleaning, outsourced services, purchase of consumables, etc. institutions, rising from BRL 9,0 billion and falling to values ​​around BRL 5,5 billion in 2021; a very high reduction, of BRL (-3,5) billion, which means a drop of 38,9%. This reduction irremediably compromises the general functioning of institutions in 2021. The National Association of Directors of Federal Higher Education Institutions (ANDIFES), on 18/03/2021, promoted a press conference to expose the budgetary situation of Universities and alert Brazilian society about the seriousness of the situation and the possibility of paralyzing institutional activities at the end of the first semester (ANDIFES, 2021).

Graph 11 shows the evolution of resources for Investments.

graphic 11 – Evolution of financial resources associated with Investments in Federal Universities, in the period 2014-2021.

Source: (BRASIL. CHAMBER OF DEPUTIES, 2021)

Values ​​in 2021, around BRL 100 million, are insignificant compared to the size of the system and its needs for acquiring and updating equipment for its laboratories. From 2014 to 2021, there has been a drastic drop in these funds, from R$2,8 billion to R$100 million, a drop of 96,4%. This result, if not reverted quickly, will lead the Federal Universities to a degeneration of their facilities and a great scrapping of their research laboratories.

The financial resources applied in the Federal Institutes and Federal Centers of Technological Education

Brazil has, operating in all states and the Federal District, a total of 38 Federal Institutes of Education, Science and Technology (IFs) and two Federal Centers for Technological Education (CEFETs), one in Rio de Janeiro and one in Minas Gerais.

In the same way as in the analysis of the financial resources of the Federal Universities, we will present the resources applied in the IFs and CEFETs, separating them into Personnel, Other Current Expenses and Investments. The resources applied to pay Personnel are shown in Graph 12.

graphic 12 – Evolution of financial resources associated with the payment of Personnel of Federal Institutes and Federal Centers of Technological Education, in the period 2014-2021.

Source: (BRASIL. CHAMBER OF DEPUTIES, 2021)

There is an increase from 2014 to 2020 and in 2021 there will be a decrease of R$ (-187,0) million. There were values ​​around BRL 9,0 billion in 2014 and between BRL 14,0 billion and BRL 15,0 billion in 2020. As in the UFs, this drop in 2021 already expresses wage erosion due to inflation.

The financial amounts for the payment of Other Current Expenses suffered sharp declines, as can be seen in Graph 13.

graphic 13 – Evolution of financial resources associated with the payment of Other Current Expenses of Federal Institutes and Federal Centers of Technological Education, in the period 2014-2021.

Source: (BRASIL. CHAMBER OF DEPUTIES, 2021)

The amounts were greater than BRL 3,0 billion in 2014 and approached BRL 2,0 billion in 2020 and 2021; a reduction of one third of the resources for the maintenance of the IFs and CEFETs, which, in the same way as in the UFs, compromises the continuity of their activities in 2021.

Graph 14 shows the evolution of resources for Investments in these institutions.

graphic 14 – Evolution of financial resources associated with Investments in Federal Institutes and Federal Centers of Technological Education, in the period 2014-2021.

Source: (BRASIL. CHAMBER OF DEPUTIES, 2021)

There is, therefore, a drastic reduction in resources for Investments, which practically means a reduction to “zero” in 2021. The reduction in the period was 98,6%. This will leave “irrecoverable” marks in the institutions' laboratory environments and infrastructure, in their classrooms and laboratories.

The financial resources of the National Education Development Fund

The National Education Development Fund (FNDE) is a MEC agency that develops programs and actions related to Basic Education in support of the States, Federal District and Municipalities. The FNDE's total financial resources are shown in Graph 15.

graphic 15 – Evolution of the total financial resources applied by the FNDE in the period 2014-2021.

Source: (BRASIL. CHAMBER OF DEPUTIES, 2021)

The resources applied by the FNDE suffered a reduction of R$ (-20) billion from 2014 to 2020, which compromised several actions that were implemented in 2014, among them, the Complementation of the Union to the Fund for the Maintenance and Development of Basic Education and Valorization of Education Professionals (FUNDEB), Granting Scholarships to support Basic Education, Support for the Development of Basic Education, Direct Money at School Program (PDDE), Support for School Transport, Program to support School Meals (PNAE), Production, Acquisition and Distribution of Books and Didactic and Pedagogical Materials (DIDATIC BOOK Program), Support for School Transport for Basic Education – Path to School, etc.

Resources invested in Capes, CNPq and FNDCT

The Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel (Capes) is a MEC body that operates in postgraduate studies, evaluating programs, offering scholarships, financing events and research, etc.

The National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq) is linked to the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MCTI) and finances scholarships for graduate studies, scientific research, etc.

The National Fund for Scientific and Technological Development (FNDCT) “is an accounting fund that aims to finance innovation and scientific and technological development, with a view to promoting the country’s economic and social development” (FINEP, 2021). The FNDCT is linked to the Financier of Studies and Projects (FINEP), a public company of the MCTI.

The evolution of Capes' total resources is shown in Graph 16.

graphic 16 – Evolution of Capes' total financial resources in the period 2014-2021.

Source: (BRASIL. CHAMBER OF DEPUTIES, 2021)

Capes' financial resources suffered a sharp drop from 2015 to 2021, of 65,3%, which meant a R$ (-7,2) billion reduction.

CNPq resources suffered a reduction of 69,4%, from 2014 to 2021, going from R$ 3,0 billion to a value of R$ 918,1 million. Graph 17 shows the evolution of this reduction.

graphic 17 – Evolution of CNPq's total financial resources in the period 2014-2021.

Source: (BRASIL. CHAMBER OF DEPUTIES, 2021)

The FNDCT also had a strong reduction in its resources, from almost R$ 4,0 billion in 2014 to less than R$ 500,0 million in 2021, a reduction of 90,6%, as shown in the graph 18.

graphic 18 – Evolution of the total financial resources of the FNDCT in the period 2014-2021.

Source: (BRASIL. CHAMBER OF DEPUTIES, 2021)

Graphs 16, 17 and 18 express in detail the distribution scenario of the science and technology system. Therefore, there is a commitment to pay master's and doctoral scholarships, promote academic events, finance research, etc.

Final considerations

The 18 graphs that illustrate the analyzes of this study leave no doubt that a process of destruction of sectors sensitive to the future of a Nation is taking place in Brazil.

The “turbulence” of proposed amendments to the 1988 Constitution and the financial “suffocation” imposed on the areas of education, health, culture, environmental management and science and technology, as explained in the figures presented here, show the “macabre success” of the Program of Government presented by the then candidate Bolsonaro and the “order” issued from Washington in March 2019 to “deconstruct and undo”.

The continuation of this policy of destruction will inevitably lead to the “bankruptcy” of Federal Universities, Federal Institutes, Federal Centers for Technological Education, funding agents for Basic Education (FNDE) and Science and Technology (Capes, CNPq and FNDCT). Brazilian society urgently needs to emit a “desperate cry” to stop so much deconstruction and undoing!

* Nelson Cardoso Amaral, master in physics and doctor in education, he is a professor at the Federal University of Goiás (UFG).

References


SANDIFFS. Remote Press Collective: cut of more than 18% of the budget of Federal Universities. Available at: youtube.com/watch?v=Ep0-BBmxVWc.

BRAZIL. CHAMBER OF DEPUTIES. Federal Budget Execution. Available in: https: //www2.camara.leg.br/orcamento-da-uniao/leis-orcamentarias/loa.

BRASIL.CF. Federal Constitution of 1988. Constitution of the Federative Republic of Brazil. Available in: http://www.planalto.gov.br/ccivil_03/constituicao/constituicao.htm. BRAZIL.EC-95. Constitutional Amendment No.o 95, of December 15, 2016. Amends the Transitory Constitutional Provisions Act, to establish the New Fiscal Regime, and makes other provisions. Available in: http://www.planalto.gov.br/ccivil_03/constituicao/emendas/emc/emc95.htm.

BRAZIL.INEP. Estimate of Total Public Investment in Education in Relation to Public Social Expenditure (GPS), by Level of Education – Brazil 2000-2017, Note 4. Available at: http://inep.gov.br/indicadores-financeiros-educacionais.

BRAZIL. ORDINANCE N.o 42, of April 14, 1999. Updates the breakdown of expenses by functions dealt with in item I of § 1o of art. 2o and § 2 of art. 8o, both of Law n.o 4.320, of March 17, 1964, establishes the concepts of function, subfunction, program, project, activity, special operations, and makes other provisions. Available in: http://www.orcamentofederal.gov.br/orcamentos-anuais/orcamento-1999/Portaria_Ministerial_42_de_140499.pdf/.

EDITORIAL E&S. The permanent Fundeb in times of deconstruction and undoing: mobilization and a vehement enough. Education & Society, Campinas, v.42, 2021. Available at: https://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0101-73302021000100100&lng=en&nrm=iso&tlng=pt. https://doi.org/10.1590/es.247741.

FINEP. The FNDCT. Available at: finep.gov.br/a-finep-externo/fndct. LÁZARO, N. We have to deconstruct a lot, says Bolsonaro about Brazil, 18/03/2019. Available in:

LEHER, R. Notes for the analysis of the correlation of forces in Brazilian education: in favor of the democratic front. Education & Society, Campinas, vol. 40, 2019. https://doi.org/10.1590/ES0101-73302019219831.

BOLSONARO GOVERNMENT PROGRAM. The Path to Prosperity – 2018. Available at: https://veja.abril.com.br/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/plano-de-governo-jair-bolsonaro.pdf.

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