The Union is seeing the effort being made in Rio
Um estado que por anos carregou o peso de obrigações fiscais acumuladas busca agora, por múltiplos caminhos, recuperar a capacidade de governar com alguma folga. O Rio de Janeiro negocia com o governo federal uma reestruturação profunda de sua dívida, enquanto tenta reaver recursos desviados para um banco falido e avança sobre bens de um devedor bilionário. É o movimento clássico de uma entidade pública tentando reconstruir sua margem de ação — não por um único gesto, mas por uma soma de apostas simultâneas cujo resultado ainda não está garantido.
- O Rio pagava quase meio bilhão de reais por mês em dívidas com a União — um sangramento que deixava pouco espaço para qualquer outra prioridade de governo.
- A adesão ao Propag promete cortar esse valor em 77%, mas a assinatura depende de avaliações patrimoniais ainda inconclusas, incluindo um crédito de R$20 bilhões da Petrobras.
- O fundo de pensão do estado investiu mais de R$3 bilhões no Banco Master mesmo após alertas formais de irregularidade, e o ex-governador Castro tornou-se alvo da Polícia Federal por conta dessas operações.
- O governo estima recuperar R$1,4 bilhão via ações judiciais, com decisões favoráveis já obtidas e valores em custódia — mas a recuperação total permanece incerta.
- A desapropriação da refinaria Refit, que deve R$9,4 bilhões ao estado, exige um decreto presidencial para contornar a co-propriedade federal e evitar uma batalha jurídica prolongada.
Na tarde de uma segunda-feira em Brasília, o secretário de Fazenda do Rio, Ricardo Couto, reuniu-se com o ministro Dario Durigan trazendo uma promessa: até o fim do mês, o estado assinaria sua adesão ao Propag, programa federal de renegociação de dívidas estaduais. O impacto seria imediato — os pagamentos mensais cairiam de cerca de R$490 milhões para aproximadamente R$113 milhões, com reajustes graduais ao longo de cinco anos. A redução de 77% nas obrigações imediatas representava um alívio que o estado buscava há anos.
A abertura desse caminho veio em maio, quando o presidente Lula autorizou a saída do Rio do Regime de Recuperação Fiscal. Couto, que assumiu a pasta em março após a renúncia de Cláudio Castro, descreveu a negociação como um reconhecimento federal do esforço de contenção de gastos feito pelo estado. Ainda assim, a adesão definitiva dependia da conclusão de uma avaliação patrimonial — entre os ativos em análise, um crédito de quase R$20 bilhões que a Petrobras deve ao Rio.
Em paralelo, o governo enfrentava as consequências de um escândalo no fundo de pensão estadual. A Rioprevidência havia investido mais de R$3 bilhões em fundos ligados ao Banco Master, mesmo após o Tribunal de Contas apontar irregularidades e ausência de justificativa técnica. Com Castro sob investigação da Polícia Federal, Couto anunciou ações judiciais para recuperar cerca de R$1,4 bilhão, citando decisões favoráveis já obtidas e valores mantidos em custódia.
Um terceiro front envolvia a refinaria Refit, controlada pelo empresário Ricardo Magro e devedora de R$9,4 bilhões em impostos estaduais. Para desapropriar o imóvel sem enfrentar uma disputa jurídica interminável — já que a União detém a nua-propriedade do terreno —, Couto pretendia pedir um decreto presidencial a Lula. Uma reunião com o Ministério da Justiça estava agendada para tratar dos detalhes.
Juntas, as três frentes — renegociação da dívida, recuperação dos recursos do Master e apreensão dos bens da Refit — compunham a estratégia de Couto para devolver ao Rio alguma capacidade de respirar fiscalmente. Cada iniciativa dependia de atores e prazos distintos, mas todas apontavam para o mesmo horizonte: um estado tentando, peça por peça, reconstruir sua margem de governar.
Ricardo Couto sat across from Finance Minister Dario Durigan on a Monday afternoon in Brasília, carrying news that Rio de Janeiro's government hoped would reshape the state's financial future. By month's end, Couto said, he would sign Rio onto Propag—a new federal program for renegotiating state debts that promised to cut the state's monthly payments from roughly R$490 million to about R$113 million, with gradual increases over five years. The shift represented a 77 percent reduction in immediate obligations, a relief the state desperately needed after years of fiscal strain.
The move came after President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva authorized Rio's exit from the Regime of Fiscal Recovery in early May, clearing the path to this new arrangement. Propag itself was designed as a more favorable framework than the previous system—it allowed states to extend repayment timelines and reduce financial charges, though it tied those benefits to commitments to invest in specific areas. Couto, who had assumed office in March after his predecessor Cláudio Castro resigned, framed the negotiation as evidence that the federal government recognized Rio's efforts to control spending. "The Union is seeing the effort being made in Rio de Janeiro, the expense containment we're doing," he told reporters. "The minister wasn't accepting every point, but he positioned himself very favorably."
The path to final approval, however, remained incomplete. The state still needed to complete an evaluation of assets that could be applied against the debt—a process that included a substantial credit of nearly R$20 billion owed by Petrobras to Rio. Until those calculations were finished, the program's final structure remained unsettled.
Parallel to the debt restructuring, Couto was also pursuing recovery of funds that had vanished into the failed Banco Master. The state's pension fund, Rioprevidência, had invested more than R$3 billion in funds connected to Master, even after the state's Court of Accounts had flagged irregularities and warned that the investments lacked proper technical justification. Federal Police investigations later confirmed the pattern. Couto estimated that legal action could recover approximately R$1.4 billion of the total lost amount. "We've already filed judicial requests, and we have favorable court decisions," he said. "What matters is that we already have some amounts held in escrow to cover restitution to Rio." The previous governor, Castro, had become the subject of a Federal Police operation in late May related to those Master investments.
A third matter occupied Couto's agenda: the desapropiation of land belonging to Refit, a refinery controlled by businessman Ricardo Magro. The facility owed R$9.4 billion in taxes to the state, and the government wanted to seize the property to recover at least part of that debt. The complication was that the federal government held what is known as bare ownership of the land—meaning the Union retained certain legal rights even though the state operated it. Without federal consent, any seizure would invite legal battle. Couto planned to request a presidential decree from Lula to authorize the measure, providing the legal certainty needed to move forward without prolonged litigation. A separate meeting with the Justice Ministry was scheduled to discuss the specifics.
Taken together, these three initiatives—the debt restructuring, the Master recovery effort, and the Refit seizure—represented Couto's attempt to stabilize Rio's finances through a combination of federal negotiation, legal recovery, and asset seizure. The success of each depended on different actors and timelines, but all three pointed toward the same goal: restoring fiscal breathing room to a state that had been suffocating under accumulated obligations.
Notable Quotes
The Union is seeing the effort being made in Rio de Janeiro, the expense containment we're doing, with a direction that seems adequate to me.— Governor Ricardo Couto, after meeting with Finance Minister Dario Durigan
We've already filed judicial requests, and we have favorable court decisions. What matters is that we already have some amounts held in escrow to cover restitution to Rio.— Governor Ricardo Couto, on Master bank recovery efforts
The Hearth Conversation Another angle on the story
Why does Rio need to switch programs at all? Wasn't it already in a recovery regime?
It was, but that regime was crushing them. Under the old system, they were paying R$490 million every month. Propag lets them stretch those payments out and reduce the charges, which is why the monthly bill drops to R$113 million. It's a recognition that the old approach wasn't working.
And the Master bank situation—how does R$3 billion just disappear into a failed bank?
The pension fund kept investing in it even after warnings. The Court of Accounts flagged problems, said there were no real technical criteria for the investments, but the money kept flowing. Now they're trying to recover what they can through the courts.
Is R$1.4 billion a realistic recovery number?
Couto says they already have favorable court decisions and money held in escrow. But R$1.4 billion out of R$3 billion is still a significant loss. The rest may be gone for good.
What about the Refit refinery—why is the federal government involved in seizing a private company's property?
Because the refinery owes R$9.4 billion in state taxes. But the land itself is technically owned by the federal government, so Rio can't just take it without federal permission. They're asking Lula to issue a decree to make it legal and avoid years of court fights.
So Couto is essentially asking the federal government to help him recover money three different ways.
Exactly. The debt restructuring, the Master recovery, the Refit seizure—they're all pieces of the same puzzle. He needs federal cooperation on all fronts.