Brazil Supreme Court blocks extra budget appropriation for president's office

Supreme Court Justice Gilmar Mendes has blocked $29 million from an authorization issued by President Dilma Rousseff for supplemental budget appropriations to be used by the Office of the President and the Ministry of Sport.

The ruling, issued Sunday (May 1st), upheld a request from the Solidarity Party (SD), which argued that the president's measure was “unlawful and showed the government's and the [ruling] Workers' Party's recklessness towards the population and a lack of transparency in authorizing supplemental budget appropriations.”

In his opinion, Gilmar Mendes said it was not “reasonable” to address advertising spending as urgent, and therefore, he ruled the temporary presidential decree (which has binding force until discussed by Congress) was not in accordance with the Constitution.

Translated by Mayra Borges