President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva announced on Friday that the federal government’s anti-debt measures will likely include students who are behind on payments to the Higher Education Student Financing Fund (FIES). However, Lula did not specify how the debt renegotiation process would unfold.
“The debt burden on FIES students is increasing. We will need to include them in our debt negotiation strategy. We cannot take away the dream of a young person who owes for their university education,” Lula stated during the inauguration of a new unit of the Federal Institute of São Paulo (IFSP) in Sorocaba.
“The student will pay off their debt by becoming a competent professional, because if they are competent, they will enhance our country’s productive quality,” the president emphasized.
According to data from the Ministry of Education (MEC) as of October 2025, 160,000 students are behind on FIES payments, amounting to a debt balance of R$ 1.8 billion.
The president reiterated that resources allocated to education should be viewed as investments, not expenses. Lula affirmed his belief that the country’s development is directly linked to the expansion of education.
“No one can take away my conviction that there is no other way for Brazil to define itself as a highly developed country in democratic, civilizational, technological, and economic terms, except by investing in education.”
The president compared the resources required to maintain a student versus an incarcerated individual.
“A prisoner in a maximum-security federal prison costs R$ 40,000 per year. In other prisons, it’s R$ 35,000 per year. A student at the Federal Institute costs R$ 16,000 per year, which is half of what a criminal costs,” he said.
“We invest in criminals when we don’t invest in education,” he added.
In his speech, the president suggested that each federal deputy and senator commit to using parliamentary amendments to establish a school in the country. According to Lula, if lawmakers adopted this idea, the education problem in Brazil would be resolved.
“Let’s assume each deputy has R$ 40 million per year in amendments. Each deputy and each senator. Imagine if they all took responsibility for funding the construction of a school. There are 513 deputies, 513 schools. There are 81 senators, 81 schools. We solve the education problem,” he added.
At the end of his speech, in a humorous tone, Lula remarked that if the U.S. president knew what a Pernambucano was, he wouldn’t threaten Brazil. However, Lula noted that the country is peaceful and values peace and love.
“If he knew what an angry Northeasterner is, he wouldn’t mess with Brazil,” he said.
“In any case, we don’t want war. We want peace. We want access to culture, to travel, study, date, and have fun. Anyone who wants war should go to the other side of the planet, because here we are the land of peace and love,” he added.
The new federal institute unit inaugurated on Friday in Sorocaba was made possible by the New Growth Acceleration Program (Novo PAC). Construction began in 2024, and the facilities cover 4,600 square meters, offering a complete structure for technical and technological education, including classroom blocks, workshop-type laboratories, and an administrative block.
Source: Agência Brasil.
Original published at O Cafezinho.
