Budgets for the city of São Paulo in the Imperial Period

Abstract

The history of public finance is relatively well developed in Brazilian historiography, but most research has focused on the finances of the central government and the activities of state governments, with less emphasis on municipal finances.  In this essay, we study the composition and evolution of the budgets of the city of São Paulo, as well as the evolution of its main revenues and expenditures during the Empire. We used two sources of information: the budgets and balance sheets approved annually by the Municipal Council of the city of São Paulo and sent for consideration by the Legislative Assembly of the Province of São Paulo, and the Provincial Laws that ratified them. An analysis of the budgets shows that the municipality did not meet a large part of the needs of a city that was growing in population, in the complexity of its economic activities and in its social demands, such as education, health, sanitation, culture and infrastructure. The municipality's expenditure was concentrated on the limited bureaucracy that existed and on the maintenance of cemeteries, markets, the library and services such as public cleaning. In addition, resources were allocated to minor works, such as the restoration of walls, fountains, bridges, etc. Rather, as the capital of the province, most of the expenditures on education, health, sanitation, culture and, probably, most of the infrastructure projects were paid for by the provincial government.