The Brazilian government of Lula stands in front of scandal over InS's discounts

On Wednesday, May 7, 2025, the Brazilian newspaper O Estado de S. Paulo Published a devastating editorial team in which the government of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva was criticized for her reaction to “Operation Sem Desconto”. This resulted in a scandal in which inappropriate discounts included the advantages of pensioners from the National Institute for Social Security (INSS). The editorial described the government's reaction as “stunned and unable to react to the climax of the scandal”, especially because he had not released Carlos Lupi, the then Minister of Social Security, whose persistent public prosecutor was classified as “not sustainable” from the first day of the crisis.

The criticism did not stop here; It stretched to Wolney Queiroz, Lupi's right man, who was appointed head of the ministry, although he was involved in measures that made the fraudulent program easier. As a congress member, Queirz has also made a change that “has postponed the need to re -evaluate the debts in the salary statement annually” and to effectively open the door to the fraudulent fraudulas that have now come to light.

After the scandal it became known that Lupi had already been alerted about the increasing number of symptoms in June 2023, “maneuvered” so that the matter was only discussed in April of the following year. The editorial pointed out that both Lupi and Queirz were equally culpable and emphasized that it would be naive to give the guilt exclusively. More comprehensive agreement among the political parties to facilitate revenue generation for companies at the expense of pensioners.

The editorial came to the conclusion that the government's only acceptable answer to the immediate dismissal of the entire leadership of social security on the day on which the operation was started on April 23, 2025. It says: “The government still owes many answers to pensioners and pensioners”, noting that simply suspected discounts or promising reimbursements were indelible. “It is necessary to explain when and whether the payment is available in one or more installments to prevent fraudsters from trying to extract more resources from a public that is exposed to fraud by false advertising on social media,” warned the editorial.

In addition, Lula's actions seemed politically motivated, especially with regard to his allies in the unions and the support of the Democratic Labor Party (PDT). The editorial suggested that the attention that was given to the pensioners was only in a direct relationship to their election needs without the government being made.

On Tuesday, May 6, 2025, the situation continued to escalate when the PDT officially announced its departure from Lula in retaliation for the release of Lupi. This political fallout coincided with the announcement that the General improver of the Union (CGU) would take over the investigation of the fraud cases within the Ins, which indicates a shift of the government that deals with the scandal.

In a further significant development, Congressman Danilo Forte (União-CE) presented a legislative template that aims to ban automatic discounts from associations and unions to the advantages of pensioners. This legislative step aims directly at the core of the InS's scandal, which has already led to the resignation of Carlos Lupi, who was replaced by his executive secretary Wolney Queiroz. Forte said: “Where there is public money from taxpayers, there must be transparency. The INSS is not an income figure and became as such and worse: in the form of an indirect union tax.”

The proposed invoice is intended to eliminate the possibility of automatic deductions and mandates that companies can only collect monthly fees via Bank slips that have to be paid voluntarily by the beneficiaries. “Thousands of pensioners automatically deducted parts of their payments to companies and associations, to which they were never asked to join in in many cases,” said Forte.

When the investigation of the InSS scandal developed, the federal police discovered contracts and invoices that combined the previous leadership of the one with Antônio Carlos Camilo Antunes, a number that was identified as the “epicenter of active corruption” in the ongoing examination. Antunes, known as “Careca do InSs”, allegedly received 53.58 million R $ from associative companies and intermediaries that used companies to offer advisory services for retire associations.

In addition, the Federal Police confiscated notebooks with comments that proposed the alleged payments by Antunes to Alessandro Stefanutto, the President of the Ins who were released after the operation. The investigators found that Antunes had transferred 9.32 million R $ to server and companies that were connected to former InSS leaders.

An essential contract was found during a police attack on April 24, 2025 in the Eric Fidelis office in Recife, Pernambuco. This contract was signed by one of the companies by Antunes, Prospect Consultoria. Eric is the son of André Paulo Felix Fidelis, who, until July 2024, acted as a director of the achievements and relationship with the citizen of the in -ins. The investigation showed that Prospect allegedly received 11 million R $ from an association with formal agreements with the INSS, which is now being examined for performance discounts under tested review.

In addition, eight invoices were found at an address that was connected to Maria Paula Xavier da Fonseca Oliveira, who is connected to the Attobernis Attorney of General, Virgílio Antônio Ribeiro de Oliveira Filho, which was also removed from his position. The invoices from July 31, 2023 to February 9, 2024 showed a worrying pattern of financial misconduct in which high -ranking civil servants were involved.

Between 2019 and 2024, the total amount, which the InSS benefits deducted from various associations, reached $ 6.3 billion, although it still has to be determined how much of this was carried out illegally. According to the CGU and the federal police, an overwhelming 97.6% of the insured persons surveyed during the investigation stated that they had not approved the discounts. The INSS Ombudsman received almost 5,000 symptoms and over 700 denunciations in connection with inappropriate discounts between January 2024 and February 2025, which further emphasizes the selection of the problem.

While the investigation continues and political effects have afloat, the Lula administration looks like increasing pressure in order to disclose the concerns of the pensioners and to ensure the accountability within the Ins. The public wonders how deeply corruption runs and what steps are taken to prevent such abuse in the future.

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