December 16, 2024, 2:34 PM
December 16, 2024, 2:34 PM
The Brazilian president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silvareturned to office this Monday, after a week hospitalized for an intracranial hemorrhage, and argued with his Minister of Finance, Fernando Haddad, a series of economic measures proposed by the Government to Parliament.
“We discussed some details that are most worrying,” such as a reduction in taxes on weapons purchases by civilians, included in the regulations of a rtax form by the far-right opposition during discussions in the Senate, Haddad told reporters.
Lula was discharged this Sunday, after undergoing two operations last week due to an intracranial hematoma that was a consequence of a fall he suffered on October 19.
The president returned to dispatch at his private home in São Paulo, where he is expected to remain until next Friday, when, according to the doctors, he would be able to return to Brasilia and resume his duties in the Government, although with some restrictions.
According to Haddad, Lula’s biggest concern at this moment is the processing of the tax reform regulations and a fiscal adjustment package to contain spending, two issues that the legislative chambers plan to vote on this week, before Parliament goes into recess until next February.
“Their concern is that the measures proposed by the Government are not dehydrated” in the cameras, Haddad told journalists outside Lula’s home.
The tuning packagewhich aims to reduce spending and guarantee a “zero deficit” in public accounts for the coming years, was announced after strong pressure from the financial sector.
In recent weeks, this pressure has translated into a strong devaluation of the real against the dollar and brought the Brazilian currency to historic lows, which in turn have forced the Central Bank to raise interest rates to 12.25% for fears of uncontrolled inflation, currently at 4.87% year-on-year.
Financial market operators allege that if the growth of public spending is not limited, it would put more pressure on a fiscal deficit that is close to 10% of gross domestic product and a public debt that in 2025 could exceed the equivalent of 81% of GDP.
Despite these concerns, the financial market itself estimates that Brazil will close this year with a growth of 3.42% and an inflation rate of 4.89%, which will exceed the 4.5% goal set by the monetary authorities, according to a report released this Monday by the Central Bank.
This, in a scenario of increased consumption, generated by the improvement in the real income of workers, and with unemployment around 6%. EFE
