TITLE: Brazil's Finance Ministry Extends Novo Desenrola Debt Renegotiation Program Until August 2026
BODY:
On August 1, 2026, Brazil's Minister of Finance, Dario Durigan, signed a decree extending the Novo Desenrola program, a debt renegotiation initiative, until August 31, 2026. The extension was published in an extra edition of the Official Gazette of the Union. The program, originally scheduled to conclude on August 3, 2026, aims to benefit approximately 10 million people through debt restructuring with financial institutions.
The extension maintains a critical restriction: participants in the Novo Desenrola program are prohibited from placing bets on online betting platforms. Upon signing a renegotiation contract with their bank, participants automatically authorize the blocking of their CPF (Brazilian taxpayer ID) on all regulated betting platforms. The restriction applies for 12 months under traditional debt renegotiation methods and six months for the "Desenrola Adimplentes" program, which targets informal workers with accounts in good standing. Banco do Brasil centralizes data from the Guarantee Fund for Operations (FGO), and financial institutions are prohibited from authorizing transactions, including Pix or card payments, directed to betting sites from beneficiaries' accounts. This measure prevents financial relief from being redirected toward online gambling.
Since the program's launch in May 2026, 2.5 million people have renegotiated and fully paid their bank debts, while 1.6 million have renegotiated and continue paying in installments. An additional 5 million people have had negative credit records cleared for amounts up to R$100. Durigan stated the extension will have no fiscal impact on the Union, as mobilized resources are sufficient to sustain renegotiations. The extension applies exclusively to financial institutions that entered at least one thousand credit operations guaranteed by the FGO by July 30, 2026.