Athletics scholarships face cuts as Brazil competes in Tokyo Olympics

On Friday morning, Brazilians switched on their television sets to watch the opening ceremony of the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, which will run until August 8. The country has high medal hopes, hoping to improve on its all-time record haul in the Rio Olympics in 2016. However, despite this optimism, federal data shows that the government’s flagship athletics scholarship program has suffered significant budget cuts since its inception in 2005.

Funding for the Bolsa Atleta program fell 17 percent during the 2017-2021 Olympic cycle. According to Citizenship Ministry data obtained via the Access to Information Law (LAI), despite the extended Tokyo Olympic cycle, the total amount allocated to the program was BRL 530.45 million, compared to BRL 641.18 million for the previous 2013-2016 period. 

Since 2005, the Bolsa Atleta budget has increased by 100 to 200 percent over each Olympic cycle. But in 2014, this trend began to reverse and, during the term of President Michel Temer, the program was starved of funds, threatening its future.

When he took over the presidency, Jair Bolsonaro set a goal to modernize the Bolsa Atleta program during his first 100 days in office. In 2019, Bolsonaro...