Oportunismo Orçamentário? Um estudo sobre gastos públicos em anos eleitorais em Campo Grande - MS

Abstract

Empirical studies have found the existence of Political Budget Cycles (CPO), a practice that consists of the management of public expenditures with a view to maintaining power. The determining elements of the CPO, however, are not identical and generalizable, being the result, among other aspects, of the degree of development of nations, the democratic maturity of the country, the independence of the powers and how free the press is. In turn, there is no consensus in the CPO literature about the allocation of public resources more susceptible to electoral manipulation, however expenses with health, education, personnel and investments are covered in rubrics constantly studied in the contexts of political cycles because they are state actions that correspond to the social appeal. In this context, the present study aimed to understand how the execution of the budget behaves in Campo Grande – MS, in election years. To this end, we analyzed, from the economic-financial perspective, the expenses incurred, between the years 2003 and 2020, in the accounts of: investments, health, education and personnel expenses, contained in the annexes of the Summary Report of Budget Execution (RREO) and the Fiscal Management Report (RGF), covering, therefore, five electoral cycles: 2004, 2008, 2012, 2016 and 2020. It was also undertaken interviews with managers responsible for preparing the budget of the Capital, in the periods covered by the study, as well as councilors members of the Permanent Committee on Finance and Budget. The findings point to the presence of budget political cycles, especially in the investment heading. Occasionally, between the years 2004, 2008 and 2016, a clear increase in investment spending was identified, coinciding, therefore, with the electoral period. On the other hand, the interviews conducted with councilors of the Permanent Committee on Finance and Budget of the Chamber and managers of the Municipality of Campo Grande – MS, responsible for the preparation of the budget indicate, in summary, that public expenditures are defined and prioritized according to conditions, which include the sieve of existing Political Forces and the electoral calendar (Electoral Prioritization). Important findings emerge from this study, which include the urgent need for institutional dialogue between the powers, under the risk of loss of the conditions of governability, the absence of adequate mechanism for the preparation and execution of the budget and a process that consists of evaluating the political thermometer of the occasion, with a view to acting to improve the recent results of the administration, coinciding, in this way, with the perspectives of the Theory of Budget Cycles. The study found, therefore, that the execution of the budget of Campo Grande – MS, in the period studied, was affected by the electoral agenda, especially with regard to investment spending. Thus, the findings of the study contribute to the literature of the CPO, adding the perceptions of managers and politicians about the existence of the phenomenon, also indicating the paths adopted by the administrations studied to allocate resources, in attention to popular demands and with a view to political gain.