El ajuste fiscal como política de Estado

Abstract

This article develops the premise that fiscal austerity has constituted a State policy in Brazil since the 1990s. The construction of legal mechanisms to transform austerity and fiscal balance into State policy began during the Fernando Henrique Cardoso administration and reached its definitive form—its enshrining in the Constitution—under Michel Temer's government through Constitutional Amendment No. 95 (EC95). In addition to discussing this theme, the article analyzes the legislation developed over time, with a particular focus on EC95 and the legislation that replaced it during the third term of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, known as the Marco Fiscal (Fiscal Framework). The study also highlights that expenditure restrictions were not designed to cover public debt services; instead, strategic sectors such as education, health, and the environment are always the first to face budgetary constraints. The exclusion of debt service from spending reduction efforts reveals the power of finance in determining economic policy and the dominance of neoliberal thought in the country. More recently, social policies targeting low-income segments, as well as the policy of increasing the minimum wage—considered the pillar of the social policy introduced by Lula during his second term—have also been subject to restrictions.