With Ernesto Araújo as president, per diem payments to diplomats for missions in Brazil increase by 49%.
In 2019, the first year of Ernesto Araújo's tenure at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, R$ 444,3 was paid in per diem allowances to 77 diplomats, compared to R$ 297,6 in 2018 for 100 employees.
247 - The amount paid in per diem allowances to diplomats working abroad who were called upon for missions in Brazil increased by 49,29% in 2019, the first year of Ernesto Araújo's administration at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MRE), compared to the previous year. In 2019, R$ 444,3 was paid in per diem allowances to 77 diplomats, compared to R$ 297,6 in 2018 for 100 employees. The data was published by CNN Brazil via Access to Information Law (LAI).
Generally, these missions last less than a month. The average in 2018, for example, was 12 days. This amount increased in 2019, with an average of 22 days.
Last year, five diplomats stayed in the country for more than four months: Gilsandra da Luz Clark (six months), Mayara Nascimento Santos (146), Mateus Fernandez Xavier (142 days), Fernando Augusto Ferraz Muggiati (142) and Alberto Luiz Pinto Coelho Fonseca (123 days).
In 2019 alone, Clark received R$ 40,9 in per diem payments (approximately R$ 6,8 per month).
While they receive these daily allowances, their salary, paid in euros or dollars, continues to be paid, as does the allowance to pay for their official residence in the other country. The amount can exceed R$ 30 per month.
Housing allowances can reach US$10 per month (R$53,8). Adding these payments together, it's possible that a single employee could cost more than R$1 million per year.