Federal prosecutors are investigating the Bolsonaro government's low investment in combating Covid-19.
The Federal Public Prosecutor's Office has ordered an investigation into the under-spending of public funds in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic. Billions of reais are being withheld by the Bolsonaro government instead of reaching their intended destination: serving the population.
247 - The Federal Public Prosecutor's Office (MPF) has ordered an investigation into the low expenditure of public funds in the fight against the pandemic in Brazil. According to prosecutors, of the R$ 11,74 billion made available for direct execution by the Ministry of Health, only R$ 2,59 billion had been committed and only R$ 804,68 million had been effectively paid out by May 27.
The report from the Uo portalThe document highlights that “up to the date verified by the Federal Public Prosecutor's Office, only 6,8% of the available resources had been spent. The prosecutors emphasize in the lawsuit that the transfers to states and municipalities were drastically reduced starting in the second half of April. The investigation was initiated following the receipt of a complaint containing information from a study based on data from official Ministry of Health websites.”
The article further emphasizes that "according to the Federal Public Prosecutor's Office, the study reveals a possible inefficiency on the part of the Federal Government in addressing the consequences of COVID-19 in the health sector in at least three aspects: low utilization of resources allocated for expenses—especially those directly applied by the Ministry of Health—delays in releasing resources to other federative entities, and the Federal Government's small share in health costs, in relation to the total financing assumed by the federative entities."