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Survey Shows That the Union, States and Municipalities Have Already Committed Over R$ 3.5 Trillion By August 2025, With a Strong Weight of Mandatory Expenses Such as Personnel and Social Security, Revealing Which Levels Lead the Budget Execution During This Period.
Governments at the three levels have consumed over R$ 3.5 trillion in the first eight months of the year, according to the Gasto Brasil platform.
The Union leads the amount with R$ 1.53 trillion by August 2025, a value higher than the total combined by the 27 states and over 5.5 thousand municipalities, each around R$ 1 trillion.
The picture confirms the weight of mandatory expenses and the predominance of the federal government in the volume executed.
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The majority of the spending is concentrated in rigid categories.
According to the survey, personnel (and charges) and Social Security account for about 60% of the total spending in the public sector.
This profile reduces the margin for immediate cuts and limits the expansion of discretionary expenses, such as investments and operational costs.
Although the responsibilities vary between levels of government, the composition remains similar.
Wages, pensions, and benefits sustain the largest share of execution and help explain why expenditures remain high, even when revenue slows down.
Ranking of Expenditures by Level of Government
The Union ranks at the top, with R$ 1.53 trillion by August.
Next, state governments surpass R$ 1 trillion in total, and municipalities also exceed R$ 1 trillion.
Thus, the total above R$ 3.5 trillion reflects the federative structure: the Union concentrates benefits and national policies, while states and municipalities execute direct services to the population.
Among the subnational levels, the pressure falls on basic education networks, primary health care, public safety, school transportation, and urban maintenance.
Even though revenue is more limited outside the federal sphere, the mandatory nature of various expenses sustains a high pace of payments.
How the Union Distributes Its Expenditures
At the federal level, the Executive Branch is the largest responsible for disbursements, with R$ 994.4 billion by August.
Next is the Judiciary, which includes higher courts and Federal Justice, totaling R$ 35.9 billion.
The Legislative Branch records R$ 26 billion in the same period. Autonomous agencies that are part of the justice system and guarantee rights also appear in the balance.
The Public Prosecutor’s Office reached R$ 18.7 billion, while the Public Defender’s Office totaled R$ 5.1 billion.
These figures help to gauge the internal distribution of federal expenditure and the relative participation of each Branch and constitutional agency.
What Explains the Rigidity of Public Expenditures
The predominance of personnel and Social Security is decisive.
In addition to these categories, constitutional floors and legal commitments in health and education reduce allocation flexibility.
Long-term contracts, judicial decisions, and mandatory transfers also make up the category of expenditures that are difficult to compress.
In scenarios of revenue growth, execution typically follows the trend and supports the provision of services.
When revenue loses momentum, rigidity makes proportional cuts difficult and penalizes discretionary areas, which tend to be the first to face cuts.
Pressure on States and Municipalities
In the states, the payroll, social security charges, and public safety consume a significant portion of budgets.
Hospital networks and secondary education complete the picture, with ongoing costs that cannot be suspended without direct impact on citizens.
In municipalities, the emphasis is on early childhood and elementary education, primary health care, and urban services.
The total exceeding R$ 1 trillion by August indicates that personnel and maintenance expenditures continue to be the main driver of local budgets, influenced by wage floors, careers, and legal obligations.
Prospects for Public Accounts
Execution up to August 2025 suggests that the fiscal result will continue to be conditioned by mandatory expenses.
Efficiency gains may come from career management, process modernization, policy evaluation, and tax expenditure review, when supported by law.
However, deeper changes tend to depend on federal agreements and implementation timelines.
With the milestone of R$ 3.5 trillion already consumed in the year, the discussion shifts from merely how much is spent to where and how to spend better.
What impact-evident measures can free up space for investments without compromising guaranteed rights?
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