Government takes R$ 10.5bn of diesel out of the fiscal target and proposes taking the target out of the target

The fiscal adjustment bill authorises the government to remove up to R$ 10.5 billion in diesel subsidies from the 2026 target. The money still leaves the coffers. It simply stops appearing in the books.

According to the text, the expense will now be classified as "extraordinary", a category that, until now, had only housed every previous expense.

An adviser from the economic team, who asked not to be named, calmly explained the method: "The target is sacred. That is why we protect it from everything that threatens it, starting with reality."

The Finance Ministry is studying extending the model to other awkward expenses. Sources speak of an armoured fiscal target, with a surplus guaranteed by excluding every account that runs a deficit.

The Congress pigeon, when consulted, noted that the taxpayer pays for the diesel just the same, only now it sits outside the target. There was no official comment.