Overview
- Treasury data show administrative expenses reached R$72.7 billion in 2025, a real increase of 11.6% from 2024 and the highest level since the 2016 peak of R$77.7 billion.
- These costs cover the day‑to‑day running of government, including utilities, cleaning, security, IT, fuel, rent, travel and banking services, excluding investments and mandatory benefits or salaries.
- Key 2025 outlays included R$34.1 billion for service support, R$10.5 billion for information technology, R$6.4 billion for fuels and consumables, and R$5.8 billion for rent and building upkeep.
- The government reports R$129.2 billion in discretionary space for 2026, and higher operating costs reduce room for investments and programs under a rule that caps real growth in such spending at 2.5% per year.
- The series, adjusted for inflation since 2011, shows spending above R$70 billion under Dilma Rousseff, a decline under Michel Temer and Jair Bolsonaro with a pandemic‑era low in 2021, and renewed growth since 2023 under Lula, drawing warnings from IFI and other economists about investment compression in an election year.