BRAZIL · FISCAL POLICY

Key Facts

—The decree: President Lula signed Decree 12.990 on Friday, May 29, freezing R$23.7bn ($4.7bn) in discretionary federal spending for 2026.

—The scope: The freeze affects almost every federal ministry and is split between contingenciamento and bloqueio under the spending-cap rules.

—The fiscal framework: The freeze is required by the arcabouco fiscal, the 2023 spending rule that caps real growth in federal expenses at 0.6 to 2.5 percent above inflation.