Lula expresses concern about “dehydration” of the fiscal package

On the morning of this Monday (16), the Minister of Finance, Fernando Haddad, met with the President of the Republic, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, at the president’s residence in the capital of São Paulo, where he is recovering from emergency surgery performed in the last week to contain an intracranial bleed. Lula expresses concern about “dehydration” of the fiscal package

Haddad reported that one of the topics of the meeting was the tax package. “We deal with fiscal measures. I introduced him to the rapporteurs [do pacote fiscal]how we are going to forward the need for a vote this week, and some microeconomic reform projects, which also need to be voted on this week”, revealed the Minister of Finance.

According to the minister, President Lula expressed concern about the vote on the tax package. “[Lula] made an appeal for the measures not to be dehydrated”, said the minister.

“We have a set of measures that guarantee the robustness of the fiscal framework. We are very convinced that we will continue to meet our goals”, said Haddad. “He asked for a detailed framework to speak to leaders and ensure that there is no dehydration in fiscal measures,” he added.

According to Haddad, among the reform points discussed with Lula were the removal of the exclusion of weapons and sugary drinks from the selective tax.

“We discussed with him some details that were of most concern. The issue of weapons, the issue of sugary drinks, in terms of public health, were also commented on. I discussed with him all the details of what was changed so that he could judge the convenience of eventually guiding the base leaders”, he said.

Haddad said that the president “is in a very good mood” and is following the negotiations on the progress of the tax reform in the National Congress. “I was surprised by the president’s disposition. He is very calm,” said Haddad.

On Thursday (12), the Senate approved the main regulatory project for tax reformComplementary Bill 68/2024. With the conclusion of the process in the Senate, which lasted around 5 months, the substitute text returned to the Chamber of Deputies for a new vote as it had been modified. It will be up to the deputies to maintain or remove points approved by the Senate, giving the final word on the regulations in the Legislature.

Hospital discharge

The president Lula was discharged from Hospital Sírio-Libanêsin the capital of São Paulo, this Sunday (15). Despite being discharged from hospital, Lula remains recovering at his residence in Alto de Pinheiros, in São Paulo, until at least this Thursday (19).