The Chief Minister of the Civil House, Rui Costa, said this Wednesday morning (22) that the government expects a reduction in food prices from this year’s harvest. “Our expectation is that the harvest, now, will be much better, of several products, contributing to the cheaper food”, he said, on the program Bom Dia, Minister, produced by Brazilian Communication Company (EBC).
He, however, believes that this could be put at risk if the consumer is not careful. For Rui Costa, it is necessary to pay attention to the prices charged. “The increase in purchasing power can put pressure on prices, since, with the increase in consumption, the seller, knowing that the consumer has a higher salary, will test, increasing prices, to see if the consumer is willing to pay more and more. ”, warned the minister.
Therefore, he added, “it is important for consumers to research and bargain, to avoid rising prices. This is essential to guarantee an increase in purchasing power, because there is no point in wages rising if prices rise in the same proportion”.
Priority
Concern about the rise in food prices was expressed by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva during the first ministerial meeting of 2025, held on Monday (20). Lula said that lowering prices is one of the priorities from the federal government this year.
During the interview, Costa recalled that this increase in food prices is, in part, due to the climate impacts that compromised many food producing locations, and that, with the drop in supply and increase in demand, due to the increase in purchasing power, they also increased the prices charged.
Explaining these correlations is among the strategies to be adopted by the federal government. “We need to show the improvement in the economy and the purchasing power of the population, but also to ensure that these gains do not result in price increases”, he summarized.
The assessment of the Minister of the Civil House is that the federal government’s communication about its achievements needs to be improved, in order to avoid problems that go beyond those harmful caused by fake news.
Fake news and Pix
On the other hand, public policies need to be disclosed with caution, in order to avoid giving strength to fake news, disseminated for political motivations, as he explained. “The entire world, not just Brazil, finds itself facing a major problem: the strengthening of social networks without commitment to the truth.”
“As a result, the news today lacks credibility. People no longer know what is true and what is a lie. That’s why, when defining public policies, the president reinforced that, before we make any announcement or publication, we communicate, because the truth has to come before the lie. If we don’t communicate beforehand, the lie arrives and takes hold, and we have to fight hard to deny it”, he added.
That’s what happened, according to him, with the story related to Pix. At the beginning of January, the announcement of a measure by the Federal Revenue Service on monitoring financial movements gave rise to the emergence of fake news about fee collection about movements via Pix, something that was never announced or considered by the government.
“This Pix episode is clear. Pix structures personal and social relationships. A person who barbecues or goes shopping for friends receives money from them to do the shopping. Others get paid to organize raffles. The government is aware of this. Pix, therefore, will never be used as an element for calculating income and collecting taxes. Much less for taxation”, guaranteed the minister.
For Rui Costa, there is bad faith behind the way fake news they are spread by people who have never done anything for their state or their country. “There are people who enter politics with just a cell phone in their hand, with the intention of ‘sealing’ it and getting likeswithout any commitment. I am appalled by this”, said Rui Costa.
“Sometimes, when we are invited to go to Congress, a parliamentarian arrives with his cell phone, asks a question in that ‘sealing’ style and leaves. He doesn’t even stay to hear the answer, because his objective is not to contribute to the debate, nor to present a suggestion to improve people’s lives. His objective is to achieve likes on social media and, eventually, get re-elected and destroy public policy,” he added.
Ad centralization
To deal with this problem, the federal government’s idea will be to align communication about its policies, explaining them even before they are published. “It’s not about creating a funnel that bureaucratizes or obstructs the government. It’s about improving the model,” he explained.
According to him, people need to know the public policies that are implemented to better support their opinions. In this sense, the minister defended the strengthening of the role of official vehicles. “We are going to make sure this information reaches the population. I want to end the interview by leaving a request for people to follow us through our official channels and here, on the channels of EBCso as not to fall for the vicar’s tale”, he added.
