After finally getting a 2006 budget which approved by the Congress Tuesday night, April 18, the Brazilian government quickly unveiled its 2007 Budgetary Guideline bill or Lei de Diretrizes Orçamentárias (LDO) for 2007.
The guidelines were presented during a special ceremony with the presence of ministers of Planning, Paulo Bernardo, and Finance, Guido Mantega.
In Brazil it is customary for the government to send Congress a sort of forecast of its budgetary intentions, which is known as the Budgetary Guideline bill, some time before it sends a budget bill.
The bill which was made public yesterday is certainly the child of the government’s recent difficulties in getting a budget out of Congress.
Among other things, it makes it possible for the executive branch to remove exclusive power over the budget from the legislature.
If it is approved it will be possible for the executive branch to spend money without complying with normal limits. It will be possible for the government to spend money without congressional approval.
According to the minister of Planning, this year the government was forced to emit nine temporary measures (medidas Provisórias – MPs) in order to keep the government running during the first four months of this year because it did not have a budget.
Agência Brasil