Ana Paula Marra and Iolando Lourenço
Reporters - Agência Brasil

Brasília - Almost four months late, last night a joint session of Congress approved a budget bill for 2006 (Orçamento Geral da União para 2006). The bill now goes to president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva who must approve it. He can veto some items.

Approval came after a long day of hard negotiations. The government was forced to give ground on some points. The most controversial was the funding for the construction of a bridge in the state of Sergipe (a state governed by the opposition which the government claims has not been complying with federal accountability norms (Lei de Responsabilidade Fiscal)). The negotiations to resolve the problem included the participation of the president of the Senate, Renan Calheiros (PMDB-AL), various political party leaders and the governor of Sergipe, João Alves (PFL).

Three other sticking points, the construction of a gas pipeline in the Amazon (Coari - Manaus), federal funding for the 2007 Pan American games to be held in Rio de Janeiro, and, finally, an irrigation project in the state of Bahia, were all resolved in the afternoon.

As approved, the budget estimates government net revenues of R$455.6 billion. Expenditures will be R$104 billion with payroll and related expenses; R$162 billion for social security expenses; R$90 billion for state entitlements; executive branch investments are to total R$20 billion: and there is to be a primary surplus of R$48 billion.

Translation: Allen Bennett