Bahia municipalities face financial crisis due to IBGE census errors

Wilson Cardoso, president of the Union of Municipalities of Bahia (UPB), warned that mistakes in the 2022 IBGE census have led to an under‑count of residents in many towns. Because constitutional transfers, especially the Municipal Participation Fund (FPM), are calculated on population figures, the under‑estimation reduces funding for roughly 30% of Bahia’s municipalities, putting their budgets at risk of collapse.

Cardoso said the shortfall threatens essential services such as health, education, social assistance and infrastructure. He called on IBGE to review and correct the data and urged the federal government to provide retroactive compensation for the lost revenues.