São Paulo sues federal government over delayed R$5.45 billion loan

The government of São Paulo has filed a lawsuit at Brazil's Supreme Federal Court (STF) against the federal government, accusing it of deliberately delaying authorization for a R$5.45 billion loan. The state claims the Lula administration has taken over 70 days to approve the federal guarantee needed for the loan, which is earmarked for crucial transportation and urban mobility projects.

According to the lawsuit, the National Treasury Secretariat issued a favorable opinion for the credit operation on May 19, and the process has been awaiting the Finance Minister's signature since June 10. São Paulo's state attorney general, Inês Coimbra, argues that this delay is unusually long, pointing out that 61 similar credit operations, including one for the state of Bahia governed by the Workers' Party (PT), were authorized in less than a month.

The lawsuit highlights that Bahia's R$2 billion loan was released in just nine days. São Paulo's administration seeks a provisional court order to force the federal government to release the operation. It requests that if Minister Dario Durigan does not sign the authorization within 48 hours, the judicial decision should suffice.

While the lawsuit does not directly accuse the Lula government of political motivations, Governor Tarcísio de Freitas and allies have previously suggested such reasons. Flávio Bolsonaro, a senator and ally of Freitas, has repeatedly accused President Lula of operating a "vindictive" government that uses public resources to persecute political adversaries. He specifically claimed Lula was seeking to "take revenge" on São Paulo for electing Freitas as governor, a sentiment echoed by Freitas and São Paulo Mayor Ricardo Nunes during a meeting in July.

The state's petition contrasts the delay in its loan approval with the swift processing of similar requests from other entities, even those using the same financial agent, Banco do Brasil. The document states that São Paulo's urban mobility operation has been stalled for nine weeks "without any technical, legal, or management justification."