A bet by President Jair Bolsonaro to try and reach voters of the Northeast region, program will be reduced in 2023 to 5% of what was planned

09/05/2022

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The government has virtually eliminated any housing policy forecast for 2023 in the budget bill submitted to Congress. The total amount to be allocated to the National Housing Secretariat (SNH) will be R$82.3 million for all actions, being only R$34.1 million to carry out the Green Yellow House, a federal housing program.

A bet by President Jair Bolsonaro (Liberal Party, PL) to try and reach voters of the Northeast region, the program will be reduced in 2023 to 5% of what was planned this year.

In practice, officials with Congress and the SNH linked to the public budget foresee the announcement, in the coming weeks, of the cancellation of plans to resume unfinished works, the halting of works already started and the cancellation of the start of others contracted.

The economic team forwarded a document to the Ministry of Regional Development in June saying that funds available totaled R$788 million, including R$650 million for the Green Yellow House program. The National Housing Secretariat is part of this ministry. In the budget bill, however, the total amount for the secretariat fell to R$82.3 million (10.4%), while the program will receive only R$34.1 million (5.2%).

Contracts are long-term, so they go beyond four-year terms in office – the Bolsonaro administration is paying for contracts signed during the Rousseff administration (2011-2016), for example. With no prospect of funds to continue running the program after the end of the year, the construction works will stop.

With the bill as it is, the hope for maintaining a housing policy in 2023 would fall on a change in the allocation of budgetary funds by Congress. In other words, the construction of houses for the poorest population may be at the mercy of the Centrão – a cluster of center and center-right parties that props up Mr. Bolsonaro – and the benefits of the multi-billion “secret budget,” a system for distribution of public funds used to maintain political support for the government.

In his government plan registered in the Superior Electoral Court (TSE), President Bolsonaro, which is running for reelection, cites the Green Yellow House program once, stating that the program “promotes the right to citizenship, in order to universalize access to housing acquisition in urban areas.” It also says that the program offered “the lowest interest rate ever for financing residential properties, starting at 4.5% per year.” In addition, it briefly mentions the importance of popular housing, stating that this is one of the factors that promote “well-being,” along with basic sanitation, education, leisure, culture, and security.

Asked about the funds foreseen for the Green Yellow House program next year, the Regional Development Ministry said that “fund needs for the 2023 budget have been formally forwarded” to the Economy Ministry. The Economy Ministry, on the other hand, acknowledged that “the funds foreseen fell short of the need and will of the federal administration,” but stressed that the budget bill will still be debated in Congress.

José Carlos Rodrigues Martins — Foto: Ana Paula Paiva/Valor

In an online event on Thursday, the head of the Brazilian Chamber of the Construction Industry (CBIC), José Carlos Martins, said that the budget reduction meant “a disaster.” He cited the possibility that construction works will have to be paralyzed again due to a lack of funds.

Mr. Martins told Valor that some construction works within the program will be paralyzed by lack of funds. In this bracket, the funds are aimed at households with incomes of up to R$1,800, and the value of the property is subsidized by up to 90%. The bracket was eliminated when the program name changed from My Home My Life (created by the Workers’ Party administrations) to Green Yellow House.

Ronaldo Cury, vice-president of housing at the São Paulo Civil Construction Union (Sinduscon-SP), said that the Green Yellow House program “will not change at all” with the budget cut because the program only uses funds from the Workers’ Severance Fund (FGTS).

Even so, Mr. Cury said that construction companies have been asking the government to inject funds from the federal budget into the program because it would help to strengthen the housing policy.

(Ana Luiza Tieghi contributed to this story from São Paulo.)

*By Vandson Lima, Estevão Taiar — Brasília

Source: Valor International

https://valorinternational.globo.com/