Brazil President Lula signs Rio debt relief pact and bans illegal betting finance

On 22 June 2026, President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and interim Rio de Janeiro governor Ricardo Couto signed Rio's accession to the Programa de Pleno Pagamento de Dívidas dos Estados (Propag) at the Palácio Guanabara. The agreement will lower the state's monthly debt service to about R$ 113 million from its current R$ 490 million, with payments spread over five years. Federal officials—including Vice‑President Geraldo Alckmin, Casa Civil Minister Miriam Belchior and Treasury Secretary‑Minister Rogério Ceron—attended the ceremony.

Earlier, on 19 June 2026, Lula signed a decree to freeze financial resources of illegal betting operators. The seized funds will be transferred to the National Public Security Fund, a move coordinated by the Treasury and the Ministry of Justice and Public Security. The measure follows a joint operation by public prosecutors in Rio Grande do Norte and Pernambuco that seized assets linked to clandestine betting platforms. Lula said the action aims to "sufocar o fluxo" of illicit betting money.