The lower revenue collection and higher government expenditure have broadened the deficit in the federal government’s accounts, forcing it to make budget cuts. This issue is the central theme of the seminar titled ‘The fiscal crisis and its impact on society’, which will be held on September 1 at FGV Cultural Center (Praia de Botafogo, 186. Botafogo, Rio de Janeiro), starting at 9:30 a.m., hosted by FGV's Brazilian Institute of Economics (IBRE), discussing how those cuts may affect the supply of public services.

The goal is to break down the fiscal framework today and in the long run, in addition to its impacts on states, municipalities and the country in general. “The main purpose is to discuss to what extent this fiscal crisis will deepen the loss of public services that we are currently observing. There are several examples. The most important of which is UERJ, here in Rio. But this has also been happening in the federal government, such as the issues with passport issuance, cuts in education, and border control,” said Manoel Pires, researcher in the field of Applied Economics at IBRE, who will launch the book ‘Política Fiscal e Ciclos Econômicos’ [Fiscal Policy and Business Cycles], at the end of the meeting.

The seminar will also feature Marcos Ferrari, Secretary of Planning and Economic Affairs of the Ministry of Planning, Development, and Management; Francisco Gaetani, President of National School of Public Administration (ENAP); Roberto Olinto, President of IBGE; Carlos Ivan Simonsen Leal, President of FGV; Tatiana Roque, Professor from UFRJ’s Institute of Mathematics; Bruno Funchal, Secretary of Finance of Espírito Santo; José Roberto Afonso, IBRE researcher; Renata Vilhena, former Secretary of Planning of Minas Gerais; Bruno Sobral, professor from UERJ’s School of Economic Sciences; Mauro Osório, President of Instituto Pereira Passos; and Luiz Guilherme Schymura, Director of IBRE.

According to Pires, the meeting aims to enrich the debate by bringing together representatives of the different levels of government. “The event strives to show a debate between the macro management level – who makes decisions about budget, priorities, and has to make cuts – and the micro level, so that the people affected by this cut can show what is the impact on management and on the prescription of public services.”

Another topic on the agenda is the Social Security reform and its importance to the success of fiscal policy. “If we do not balance the fiscal agenda around the reforms, what will happen is that we are going to cut only investment and funding, which is already happening, with very big losses for the population,” said Pires.

Go to the website to learn more and register.