Overview

• Minister Benjamin Zymler granted suspensive effect to the government’s appeal, freezing the TCU’s prior demand to calibrate contingencies to the center of the zero‑deficit target.
• The pause averts an immediate extra freeze estimated at roughly R$30–31 billion, with Planning Ministry data indicating R$30.189 billion in potential cuts including R$6.801 billion in parliamentary amendments.
• Zymler stated he will not propose holding public officials accountable for 2025 budget execution even if the plenary later rejects the appeal.
• Finance Ministry’s Dario Durigan said the decision provides legal certainty for the next bimonthly fiscal report due by November 22 as the government considers clarifying language in the 2026 budget guidelines law.
• The dispute over the fiscal rule’s interpretation persists, with TCU leadership insisting the center must be pursued and economists warning that treating the lower bound as the operative target weakens fiscal discipline.