Congress approves 2013 Budget three months late.

Iolando Lourenço and Mariana Jungmann
Reporters from Agência Brasil

Brasilia - After almost three months of delay, the National Congress concluded yesterday (12) the voting on the General Budget of the Union for this year. The voting took place only among senators. The matter was approved by the deputies last week, but an agreement with the opposition postponed the vote until this Tuesday.

The proposal was approved by 54 votes in favor and 2 abstentions from the senators. The vote was nominal because the PSDB party in the Senate requested a quorum verification. Last week, the vote on the matter in the Chamber of Deputies was symbolic. The budget now goes to the president for approval.

The budget proposal approved by deputies and senators sets the total revenue of the Union at R$ 2,27 trillion, with R$ 610,1 billion for debt rollover and R$ 83,3 billion earmarked for investments. The vote should have taken place last year, but was delayed due to the controversy surrounding the voting on presidential vetoes.

Due to the delay in deliberating on the matter, the government has been using one-twelfth of the original proposal monthly to pay for operating expenses, constitutional transfers, and previously made commitments. In addition, the government issued a provisional measure to release R$ 42,5 billion for investments.

The proposed budget forecasts 4,5% growth in Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2013. The text stipulated a minimum wage of R$ 674,96 starting January 1st. The budget document, reported by Senator Romero Jucá (PMDB-RR), also projects a basic interest rate (Selic) of 7,25%, inflation of 4,91%, and a primary surplus of 3,1% of GDP.