STF Blocks Bid To Revive ‘Secret Budget’ Funds As Congress Approves 2026 Spending Plan With Record Earmarks

Overview

• Congress approved the 2026 federal budget and sent it for presidential sanction, reserving about R$61 billion for parliamentary amendments.
• Budget rapporteur Isnaldo Bulhões cut mandatory expenditures, including pension benefits, to create roughly R$11.5 billion in extra earmarks for an election year.
• Justice Flávio Dino issued a preliminary order suspending an article in PLP 128/2025 that would revalidate nonprocessed and canceled restos a pagar from 2019 onward, estimated near R$1.9 billion with about R$1 billion linked to RP-9.
• Dino’s decision applies even if the bill is sanctioned and will be reviewed by the STF plenary, as the Court also tightens oversight of direct transfers and ordered a PF probe into about R$72.3 million in emendas Pix after CGU audits.
• Economists criticized the approved budget as unrealistic and warned the R$34.5 billion primary surplus target relies on uncertain revenues, raising the risk of spending blocks in 2026.