President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said this Thursday (15th) that the Brazilian economy could grow more than 2.5% this year. Lula also said he was convinced that the Gross Domestic Product (GDP, the sum of all goods and services produced in the country) should exceed the estimates of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), for growth of 0.9%. The reason, according to him, is the government’s policies so that money circulates in the hands of the population again. “We are going to grow above 2%, 2.5%, and if what I’m thinking happens, we may even grow a little more, because the first thing we did was to resume all the social policies that were working correctly. In other words, social policies that irrigate money at the base of this country, for the small producer, for the small entrepreneur, for the Bolsa Família people, for the people who are in Social Security waiting in line to retire. In other words, that money started to come back, including the money going back to culture”, said the president in an interview with radio stations in Goiás, this Thursday morning. In April, the IMF reduced the growth forecast for the Brazilian economy to 0.9% this year, below the world average and the average for countries in Latin America and the Caribbean. In the previous report, in January, the forecast was higher, at 1.2%. The president criticized, again, the level of the basic interest rate, the Selic. It is the main instrument used by the Central Bank (BC) to reach the inflation target, because the rate affects prices, since higher interest rates make credit more expensive and stimulate savings, avoiding heated demand. In March 2021, the Central Bank began a cycle of monetary tightening, amid rising food, energy and fuel prices, raising the base rate to its highest level since January 2017, when it was also at 13.75% per year. The decision to maintain the Selic at this level has been criticized by the federal government, which demands a reduction to boost economic growth. “There is no explanation, in this country, an interest rate of 13.75% [ao ano] with inflation at 4.5%. We do not have demand inflation, the people are not buying, we have 72% of the Brazilian population in debt”, he said, referring to the Desenrola program, launched by the government for the renegotiation of small debts of the population. “For people who are in debt to return to the world of commerce, to be able to buy again. They are in debt on their credit cards because they buy food, so we have to try to help these people,” added Lula. For the president, it is necessary to recover the ability to generate jobs because people want to live off their work. “Nobody likes to live on Bolsa Família, nobody likes to live on favor,” he said. “We’ve done it once and we’re going to do it again. This country will grow again, it will generate jobs again, it will increase the minimum wage again, it will increase every year above inflation. This will happen because that’s why I came back and that’s why the people elected me”, he said. Infrastructure This Friday (16th), Lula is going to Rio Verde (GO) to inaugurate a section of the North-South Railroad. “In fact, I intend to take the [ex-] president [José] Sarney because he was the one who, in 1987, started this railroad, in Maranhão”, said Lula. The president highlighted that the government is resuming 14,000 paralyzed works in several areas and that, this year, the government has R$ 23 billion to invest in the area of transport alone. According to him, the new Growth Acceleration Program (PAC), which will be launched on July 2, will include the priority works presented by the governors, including the governor of Goiás, Ronaldo Caiado. “Goiás will receive the amount of work according to the importance of Goiás. And Goiás is a very important state in the transit of products from that country, especially for agriculture”, said Lula, adding that he wants to invest in an intermodal system for the country, with more railroads and waterways. Positions During the interview, the president was asked about the “dissatisfaction” of PT members from Goiás with the distribution of federal positions in the state. For Lula, the divergence in politics is normal, but, according to him, there is no such divergence for positions with the Minister of Institutional Relations, Alexandre Padilha, responsible for political articulation. President Lula also recalled that he signed a commitment with the allied parties that worked for his election. “When we sign a commitment, we fulfill it, because if we don’t, governance becomes much more expensive. Obviously the PT is the party that elected the President of the Republic, the PT will participate in the government in Brazil and will participate in Goiás. So, I haven’t talked to any teammates from Goiás yet, but I’m going to be interested and talk to find out where the callus is hurting”, he said. “And I think the [Alexandre] Padilha treats everyone with the utmost respect, with the utmost decency, and we don’t want anyone to go around moaning, we want everything to be done in broad daylight. If the PT is going to hold office in Goiás, it will hold office in Goiás, but the other allied parties will also have to stay in Goiás. It is important that, if we share our victory, we have to share the governance of this country”, said Lula.
Agência Brasil
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