Brazil gains in tax justice and the fight against crime with fintechs on the tax authorities' radar.

Minister Fernando Haddad's announcement that, starting this Friday, fintechs will be classified as financial institutions by the Federal Revenue Service – through a normative instruction from the institution itself – represents another success for the economic team of the Lula government. The decision corrects a distortion that favored sectors disguised as technological innovation and which, in practice, often functioned as havens of impunity for large movements of dirty money.

For years, the liberal narrative has transformed fintechs into a synonym for modernity and efficiency, positioning them as a counterpoint to the "large and rigid banks." It's true that they brought agile solutions for payments and transfers, but it's also true that this flexibility was exploited by organized crime to launder money and circumvent the financial system. Leaving this sector outside of oversight was like opening a highway without speed cameras for the powerful who benefit from loopholes in the law.

The Federal Government is right to place fintechs under the same rules as traditional banks. The mandatory submission of information to the Internal Revenue Service, through e-Financeira, will increase transparency and allow the State to monitor suspicious transactions more rigorously. This does not mean persecution of small users or workers who use Pix to pay bills, as sectors of the opposition have tried to spread in waves of misinformation and fake news. Quite the contrary! The measure protects the population, ensures that criminals do not exploit digital loopholes, and reinforces President Lula's commitment to a fairer and safer financial system.

Another relevant point is the fight against so-called "habitual debtors"—companies that open and close CNPJs (Brazilian tax identification numbers) simply to evade taxes, accumulating debt and harming fair competition. By proposing objective criteria to punish these practices, the government attacks one of the most perverse mechanisms of Brazilian capitalism, which penalizes good taxpayers and benefits only bad payers. It is a policy that strengthens the State, combats undue privileges, and creates a healthier economic environment for everyone.

It is no surprise that this agenda faces resistance in Congress and is the target of smear campaigns. The same sectors that profit from the absence of regulation are now trying to sell the narrative that the Lula government wants to "monitor" the population's financial lives. But what is at stake is not the worker's pocket, but rather the billions that escape oversight and end up financing both organized crime and dishonest business practices.

By regulating fintechs and proposing punishment for habitual debtors, Haddad and the Lula government reaffirm a simple and powerful principle: everyone must obey the law, without exceptions or shortcuts for the richest and most cunning. It is fiscal justice, it is combating inequality, it is defending the public interest. And it is also another step in the reconstruction of the Brazilian state, after years of neglect and permissiveness.

Ultimately, what the economic team is proposing is to restore the people's confidence that the law is – and must remain – impartial. And this, in a country so marked by inequality, is revolutionary and fills our hearts with hope.