President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva defended, this Thursday (11), that public policies promoted by the State should reach the poorest, wherever they are. He participated in the opening of the Federative Caravan in Belo Horizonte, a federal government initiative to provide necessary services to municipalities. 
“We have to be outraged by inequalities,” said the president. Lula explained that the objective of the caravan is to integrate services from federal entities. He exemplified that mayors must request that actions reach where it is most needed.
“We have a structure to look for people to take care of them. And that is what we are doing”, guaranteed Lula.
The president argued that it is necessary to carry out the caravan because public policy must reach the people. “We are not going to expect a person who doesn’t have teeth, in Vale do Jequitinhonha, in Vale do Mucuri, to have time to take a shower, leave the house and go to the city to the dentist”, he argued.
radiotherapy center
The Minister of Health, Alexandre Padilha, also at the event, drew attention to the importance of opening of another radiotherapy center in the city of Itabira (MG), which will expand the offer of oncology treatment in the Unified Health System (SUS) this Thursday (11). The unit was financed by the federal government, through the Novo PAC.
The investment in the radiotherapy room at Hospital Nossa Senhora das Dores was R$ 13.9 million, including works and equipment. The centers are equipped with a linear accelerator and other cutting-edge technologies for cancer treatment.
Centers were also opened at the Hospital das Clínicas of the Federal University of Goiás (Goiânia); at the Tarquínio Lopes Filho General Hospital (São Luís – MA); at the Santa Casa de Misericórdia in Marília (SP); and at the São José Maternity Hospital (Colatina – ES). Together, these investments exceed R$53.7 million.
The minister said that the State will also have a trailer to carry out tomography to solve problems with exam queues. The women’s health cart will include ultrasound, cervical examination, mammography and cancer biopsy.
He also highlighted the delivery of 32 new oral health units. “Now the mobile unit goes to rural areas and to the outskirts of the city”, he highlighted.
At the event, the minister of institutional relations, Gleisi Hoffmann, said that the caravan is an interministerial policy. “Nobody governs alone, we need to help each other to govern Brazil (…) regardless of political party or position, we have a commitment to the population and we have to deliver these”.
Actions
In Minas Gerais, according to the federal government, the action will offer service and technical support through branches of ministries and federal agencies, in addition to thematic workshops aimed at qualifying municipal and state managers.
Dialogues promoted by different ministries are planned, including government structuring programs and projects for the State, the participation of women in spaces of power and federal actions to repair environmental crime in the Rio Doce basin and on the north coast of Espírito Santo.
The caravan, since 2023, has covered the states of Bahia, Rio de Janeiro, Rio Grande do Sul, Tocantins, Maranhão, Ceará, Paraíba, Pernambuco, Amapá, Piauí and Pará.
Poor on budget
President Lula argued that the poor are usually treated as if they were “invisible”. He criticized that in the preparation of the Union’s budget, the poor “don’t appear” because there is already a formatted structure to distribute resources. “We had to start changing some standards,” said Lula.
At the event, Lula also expressed concern about the tension between Venezuela and the United States. He said he told United States President Donald Trump that he does not want a war in Latin America.
“I said that I believe more in the power of words than in the power of weapons.”
Once again, the president also repudiated the cases of violence against women and femicides in the country. “If we don’t change our education process, there’s no point in enacting a law increasing the penalty, creating the death penalty. There’s no point in increasing it to 80 years.”
