Bolsonaro allocates 44% of resources to finance science in Brazil

The tyranny of the Bolsonaro government in its continued stifling of science and technology resources will harm at least 52 projects in progress in the country. With 44% of funds blocked from Brazil’s largest science fund, the National Fund for Scientific and Technological Development (FNDCT), studies on strategic regions and in the Amazon, for example, may not be finished until the end of the year.

According to a note from the Brazilian Society for the Advancement of Science (SBPC), in May the federal government allocated an official amount of R$1.8 billion in the science, technology and innovation budget. Shortly thereafter, he announced that this amount would rise to R$2.5 billion, which should be issued by decree in July.

“The cut itself is outrageous and puts the country’s entire scientific and technological research system at risk. But in addition, it reveals that science has become a preferred target for the federal government, imposing budgetary constraints on the sector unparalleled in the executive branch,” according to data released by the team. Economic, all financial portfolios affected by the embargo were reduced in the budget, transferring the burden to the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation.

For federal MP and member of the House Science, Technology, Communications and Informatics Committee Nilto Tatu (PT-SP), the new attack on science and technology is a disaster, but there will be resistance and debate on the part of the committee.

This blockade affects many projects essential for us to face the climate crisis and the challenge of creating jobs, fighting hunger and misery that the country is facing. We will resist,” he confirms.

Listenfully vice tattoo:

According to SBPC, the sectoral funds, which make up the FNDCT, such as CT-Mineral, CT-Transportes, CT-Biotecnologia, CTInfo, CT-Amazônia and CT-Aquaviário, may be completely without funds, preventing the realization of any research project … and development in These areas are in the second half of 2022.

The National Council of Institutions Supporting Institutions of Higher Education, Scientific and Technological Research (Confies) notes that at least 52 projects will be severely affected by these barriers: science at sea and science programs in the Antarctic, as well as research in bioinformatics; mitigating the effects of climate change; sustainable nutrition and crop protection products; COVID-19, green hydrogen and even niobium, a metal that is getting President Bolsonaro’s full attention.

strangulation

In the opinion of experts, other sources of funding have been stifled by the federal government. A survey by Confies shows that interest in endowment funds has gained traction among institutions. Created in Brazil in 2016, this method is very popular in the United States and consists in receiving donations in which the income is used only to fund research projects.

In this model, a foundation or civic association plays the role of receiving and managing donated resources with strict rules and contributing through an agreement with the supported university. The donor has the possibility to indicate how it will be used, says Fernando Peregrino, president of Confies.

So far, 10 endowment funds have been set up in the country, according to a Confies survey. In addition, 76% of the 50 institutions consulted by the survey have already started the process of creating their own. However, the lack of tax incentives makes it difficult to collect. Therefore, in the study evaluation, only 5% of funds received donations from private resources.

“The government does not give the money and does not allow us to seize it. The calculation made is that the gain is six times the amount not collected by the tax incentive.”

A survey conducted by the Knowledge Observatory with the Mixed Parliamentary Front for Education shows that ongoing cuts, since 2014, in the science and technology budget have already taken nearly R$100 billion from the region as of this year.

Oil and natural gas

In addition to the hurdles and difficulties in raising equity funds, the sector struggles to conserve resources that oil and natural gas exploration and production companies are required by law to allocate to research, development and innovation. This year, with commodity prices soaring, these resources are in the range of R$3 billion, according to sources in the scientific community.

Scientific blackout

The scientific blackout that Bolsonaro has promoted since he took office in 2019, has no end. Only in January in the Ministry of Education, to which the coordination of the improvement of higher education personnel (heads) is connected, The budget decrease amounted to 802.6 million Brazilian riyals. In the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovations The scissors cut was 73 million Brazilian reals.

The budget for national scientific research and development projects through CNPq (National Council for Scientific and Technological Development) has a veto in the amount of R$859,000. The agency also suffered a cut of R$8.6 million in programs aimed at education and training. In the promotion of undergraduate and postgraduate business, teaching, research and extension at the national level, the amount of investment amounted to R$4.2 million. Vucruz, a biomedical research institution that was key to immunizing the population in a pandemic scenario, was also affected by its R$11 million budget cut.

Data from the Institute for Applied Economic Research (Ipea) shows that the administrations of Michel Temer and Bolsonaro Reduce the budget allocated to science and technology by 73.4% compared to 2015.

Bigger budgets in Labor government

The Lula and Dilma governments have been the most invested in institutional measures and programs aimed at promoting Brazilian science, technology and innovation and their increasing inclusion in development policy.

Investments in funds to support scientific and technological research more than tripled: resources directed to Cnpq, Capes and the National Fund for Scientific and Technological Development (FNDCT) From R$ 4.5 billion in 2002 to R$ 13.97 billion in 2015. Also in that year, the budget of the Ministry of Science and Technology was R$6.55 billion. In 2021, with Bolsonaro, the investment was a paltry R$4.4 billion directed to research support funds and R$2.73 billion to the portfolio, down 69% and 28.33%, respectively, in nominal terms.

Before its end by a decision by the putschist government, the Science Without Borders program had awarded nearly 104,000 scholarships abroad, with an investment of R$13.2 billion since 2011.

In 2014, President Dilma Rousseff launched the National Knowledge Platforms Program, in order to encourage research in 20 areas, bringing together scientific leaders around each platform to develop products with the support of companies and launch them into the market. Payments to Finep, the financial agency in technology development and innovation, grew 66% in 2007-2015, in line with the priority given to partnerships with companies and research institutions.

From the newsroomwith information from the scientist And the Lola Institute