A tradition in Brazil has been stopped due to financial woes. At least 48 cities located in eight states all over the country decided to cancel their carnivals because of the recession.

News.com reported that the current recession in Brazil has led to the bleeding of financial resources among municipalities, spurring them to cancel their carnivals to save money that can be used for other programs. Cities in the states of Rio de Janeiro, Goias, Tocantins, Rio Grande do Norte, Minas Gerais, Paraiba and Rondonia changed their plans to hold carnivals at the final moment.

Carnival celebrations in other cities, with most located in the interior of Sao Paulo state, were stopped as well. These were deemed as the biggest festivals of the year. The funds were instead set to be used for disease prevention programs, particularly to stop the spread of dengue, zika and chikungu’a. The three illnesses are triggered by the Aedesaegypti mosquito.

Fox News Latino revealed that in other municipalities, the money was diverted to repair the damage caused by the recent powerful rains that ravaged various parts of the state. In some cities that still intend to hold carnivals, expenses for the celebrations have been reduced due to the present financial problems in Brazil. Analysts predict that the gross domestic product in the country will contract by 2.99 percent in 2016 after dropping 3.71 percent in 2015. The inflation rate is also predicted to top at 10 percent.

International Business Times said that Gabriel Rapassi, Campinas Director of Culture, stated that a reduction in sales tax revenues from small business resulted to the local government being unable to afford the huge carnival bill. Sao Luiz do Paraitinga in Sao Paulo state, are outsourcing major portions of the festival to the private sector to minimize costs.

In Minas Gerais, seven cities already announced that they will cancel the festivities in 2016 due to insufficient funds, including Sao Tomas de Aquino, Cassia, Alpinopolis, Sao Joao Batista do Gloria, Fortaleza de Minas, Lavras and Passos.

According to the Department of Culture of Sao Tomas de Aquino, they will focus instead on health, education and infrastructure. In Porto Ferreira, their funds will be used to purchase a new ambulance instead. Other cities and places that will have their parades and festivities cancelled include Morretes, Porto Ferreira, Cabo Frio, Irati, Rolim de Moura and Lagoa Formosa.

“We know the importance of Carnival, but it’s time to save,” said Rolim de Moura mayor Luizao do Trento.