During her first participation in the annual meeting of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), which takes place in Panama until this Sunday (19), the Minister of Planning and Budget, Simone Tebet, reaffirmed the commitment of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s government to social policies of inclusion, elimination of poverty, equity and the Brazilian government’s determination to transform the country’s economy to be greener and increase production with zero illegal deforestation.
Simone, who is the governor of Brazil at the IDB, recalled that the Brazilian people chose democracy and the rule of law in last year’s elections. “In light of this, I want to reinforce that our government is now highly committed to the law and human rights. A government that believes in social inclusion, in the elimination of poverty, in defense of the environment, in gender equity, in sustainable development, in science”, she highlighted.
The minister also recalled that more than 30 million Brazilians suffer from hunger in the country and stressed that “income transfer programs in Brazil are once again part of the national agenda”. For Simone Tebet, similar programs “can and need to be improved throughout Latin America and the Caribbean because they represent not only social protection, but also financial autonomy for the population.” Another commitment of the Brazilian government highlighted by her is with the climate issue and with the environment. “We know that we have the greatest biodiversity in the world, the largest area of rainforest, we are leaders in potential renewable energy generation in Latin America. Let’s transform Brazil’s economy to be greener. This is the commitment that I bring from the President of the Republic of Brazil, President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva,” she said.
Simone Tebet also reinforced the country’s commitment to the development of the entire region and active participation in multilateral forums that discuss crucial issues for the world. “All of our government’s efforts are aimed at integrating Latin America, with special attention to Mercosur, neighboring countries and countries in the Americas and the Caribbean,” she said.