Until May 2nd, Brazil had used only R$ 494 million from 2024’s federal budget destined to prevent natural disasters, says a study from Open Accounts Association. The total amount is equivalent to R$ 2.6 billion.
The disbursement of these funds by the federal government is contingent on the submission of project proposals by municipalities or federal deputies.
(This story was originally published at portal g1)
The detailed report also reveals thet spending on emergency measures taken to address natural disasters after they occur surpasses investments in preventive work.
"We face a paradoxical situation. These tragedies occur every year, yet the funds allocated to address them are not even fully utilized" said Gil Castello Branco, the executive director of the Open Accounts Association.
According to Castello Branco, R$70 billion was authorized in annual federal budgets to address climate-related phenomena between the years of 2010 and 2024. However, historical data shows that only 65% of this amount has been effectively spent.
"The ministries claim that they do not receive the project proposals from municipalities that should be sent to Brasília”, Castello Branco explained. He also highlights the challenges faced by municipalities in developing complex project proposals.
"It is natural for small and medium-sized municipalities to lack the technical staff, such as engineers, to develop projects for slope containment, river dredging, or even housing projects to relocate people living in high-risk areas" he added.
Flooding in Rio Grande do Sul
Over 80% of the municipalities in Rio Grande do Sul have been affected by floods that left more than 100 dead and at least 230,000 people homeless in 2024. The state has 336 cities in a state of calamity, including major urban centers like the capital, Porto Alegre.
In the Rio Grande do Sul delegation in Congress, only one lawmaker in the state allocated funds in 2024 for disaster prevention initiatives.
The situation in Rio Grande do Sul is not an exception. A study conducted by the Open Accounts Association (Contas Abertas) also revealed that only R$1 million of the amendments designated for disaster prevention and recovery in 2024 has been utilized. For context, the total authorized for parliamentary amendments nationwide, across all purposes, was R$44 billion.
Recovery spendings surpasses prevention
According to Castello Branco, budgetary programs tend to allocate more funds to disaster response than prevention.
"From the authorized amount of R$2.6 billion [detailed in the image below], approximately R$1.5 billion is earmarked for protection and Civil Defense actions. This is the largest allocation among all budgetary actions" he explained.
"It is difficult nowadays to know exactly how much is being directed toward prevention versus recovery. This year, spending on recovery will far exceed prevention, given what happened in Rio Grande do Sul.”
Government spent over seven times on disaster relief actions between 2018 and 2024
Between 2018 and 2024, the federal government invested seven times more in disaster relief efforts compared to prevention measures. The investment in reconstruction actions amounted to R$7 billion, while spending on prevention initiatives was just R$2.7 billion.
According to Castello Branco, the climate disaster in Rio Grande do Sul demands a comprehensive reconstruction plan for the state.
“The situation underscores the importance of envisioning extraordinary credit measures, which are only deployed in cases of truly unpredictable tragedies, such as war or a calamity like the pandemic,” Castello Branco stated.
Government's Position
In addition to the R$2.6 billion already allocated in the budget, Lula administration announced this week a new package of R$1.7 billion for slope containment and R$4.8 billion for urban drainage systems (designed to collect and manage rainwater).
These projects are part of the Growth Acceleration Program (Programa de Aceleração do Crescimento, PAC).
"The Ministry of Integration manages most of the funds for these programs, [but] it is not the only one," Castello Branco explained. According to him, this ministry is the largest distributor of funds for both disaster prevention and response programs.
An official statement from the Ministry of Integration and Regional Development (MIDR) emphasized that cities in Rio Grande do Sul that had not yet received funds must submit work plans.
"Cities in Rio Grande do Sul that have not yet received the funds simply need to submit their work plans to the MIDR. All requested resources are guaranteed and ready for disbursement," the statement published on the government portal gov.br reads.
In the same release, Wesley Felinto, chief of staff for the National Secretariat of Civil Protection and Defense at the MIDR, explained, "All municipalities affected need to do is log into the civil defense system, submit a simple work plan—complete with georeferenced photos and cost estimates—and they can request funds for recovering destroyed infrastructure such as bridges, residential units, and other public facilities."
During a press conference on Friday, May 10, the government reported that the National Civil Defense had approved 87 new plans by that morning, totaling nearly R$56 million in resources. Another 93 plans were under evaluation.
Additionally, the government approved the allocation of emergency funds for cities affected by the storms. The funds are distributed according to the size of the requesting municipality:
R$200,000 for municipalities with up to 50,000 inhabitants.
R$300,000 for municipalities with populations between 50,000 and 100,000.
R$500,000 for municipalities with populations over 100,000.
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