LRF has been “successful” but it “remains incomplete,” José Roberto Afonso says published by Valor Internacional (5/2025).
“A quarter-century later, the legislation still lacks rules to cap public debt and the creation of a Fiscal Management Council, the economist says
Twenty-five years ago, in the third edition of Valor, an article titled “Practice Instead of Promise,” co-authored by José Serra and José Roberto Afonso, marked the enactment of the Fiscal Responsibility Law (LRF) on May 4. The legislation was designed to provide tools and set targets for fiscal policy at the federal, state, and municipal levels.
A quarter of a century later, Mr. Afonso reflects in this interview that while the LRF has been largely successful, it remains incomplete. Two key provisions never moved beyond the drawing board: the establishment of a ceiling on federal public debt and the creation of a Fiscal Management Council.
He also points to the need to revise Brazil’s General Public Accounts Law of 1964. According to Mr. Afonso, the absence of such an update—combined with a constitutional framework for budgeting that was designed for a parliamentary system—helps explain the ongoing crisis surrounding parliamentary amendments…”
