Brasília – Federal, states and local governments in Brazil had a BRL 11.047 billion (USD 3,479 billion) primary deficit in March, up from BRL 10.644 billion (USD 3,352 billion) in March 2016, the Brazilian Central Bank reported this Friday (28) in Brasília. The result was the worst on record for a March. Record-keeping began in December 2001. A primary deficit means revenue minus expenditure, and does not include interest-related spending.
In March of this year, Brazil’s so-called Central Government (Social Security, the Central Bank and the National Treasury) registered a primary deficit of BRL 11.646 billion (USD 3.668). States’ governments ran a BRL 473 million (USD 149 million) surplus, with municipalities posting a combined surplus of BRL 465 million (USD 146 million). State-run companies at the federal, state, and local levels, not including companies in the Petrobras and Eletrobras conglomerates, saw a primary deficit of BRL 298 million (USD 94 million).
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum