President Lula and Rio de Janeiro’s acting governor, Judge Ricardo Couto, signed an agreement on Monday allowing the state to join the federal government’s debt refinancing program, known as Propag.
The deal will reduce Rio’s debt to the federal government to R$168.5 billion from R$210.6 billion, according to state officials.
The Rio administration estimates the agreement will yield savings of R$6.2 billion this year and an additional R$12.3 billion in 2027.
Authorization for Rio to join the program was granted in May. With Monday’s signing, the state formally exits Brazil’s…