Chamber of Deputies Wants R$250 Million From Lava Jato for CNPQ Research Grants

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – In addition to fighting fires, the Chamber intends to use part of the funds recovered by Lava Jato to pay for research grants from the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPQ).

A petition was submitted to Justice Alexandre de Moraes, of the Federal Supreme Court (STF), to set aside R$250 (US$62.5) million in a Petrobras fund to allocate to researchers.

On Tuesday, August 27th, Chamber President Rodrigo Maia (DEM-RJ) sent a petition to the STF in the action in which Justice Moraes will decide on the fate of the R$2.5 billion sourced from an agreement between the United States and the Brazilian state-owned company. Maia also asks that R$1 billion be used to fight fires in the Amazon rainforest.

Maia and Moraes met last week to address the issue. The goal is that the amount provided in their request for projects linked to the promotion of science and education be directed by the Ministry of Economy to mitigate the plight in higher education.

This week, Science and Technology Minister Pontes told Globonews that his portfolio will not be able to afford CNPQ grants until the end of the year and he “begged” for more funds. The agency’s budget deficit stands at R$330 million.

The Brazilian Society for the Advancement of Science (SBPC) mentions the risk of 85,000 researchers running out of grants as of September.

The fate of the R$2.5 billion in the Lava Jato fund has been stalled at the STF in March, after the Prosecutor General’s Office challenged the agreement reached between Petrobrás and the Lava Jato task force in Paraná. The measure established, among other points, the establishment of a foundation to administer part of the fine.

The information is from the newspaper O Estado de S. Paulo.

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