Former Minister of Finance and Planning, Nelson Barbosa, and economist Guilherme Mello, members of the economic coordination of the transition cabinet, had their first meeting today (24) with the Minister of Economy, Paulo Guedes. The meeting, which lasted two hours, served to introduce the groups, with Guedes placing the current economic team at the disposal of the elected government.
“The information that the Minister [Paulo Guedes] presented and the opinions he gave will be taken into account by the transition”, said Barbosa. He highlighted that the minister’s suggestions were passed on confidentially, stating only that Guedes made a defense of his management in almost four years at the head of the portfolio.
According to Barbosa, the next step involves meetings with the Federal Revenue Service, the National Treasury and the Attorney General’s Office of the National Treasury, to draw up a map of fiscal and legal risks for the Budget. “In every transition, we map [de riscos], so much so that a map of fiscal risks is included in the Budget. The law requires this, and we want to know the information from the PGFN, understand the details in more detail”, he declared.
Barbosa classified the first meeting as “great” and said that the dialogue will continue. Mello made the same assessment.
political negotiations
Topics such as the lack of resources for programs in the 2023 Budget and the proposed amendment to the Constitution (PEC) that intends to exclude up to R$198 billion from the spending ceiling were not addressed at the meeting, said Barbosa. Neither was the scarcity of funds for public security discussed, a topic raised yesterday (23) by senator-elect Flávio Dino (PCdoB-MA), one of the coordinators of the technical group for Justice and Public Security of the transition team.
“We are not dealing with the Budget, this is being dealt with in Congress”, declared Barbosa. When asked about the possibility of a provisional measure as an option to make Bolsa Família viable, the former minister said that the Transition PEC, as well as the financing of the social program, “is an issue that is being addressed in the political field”.
Barbosa added that negotiations around the PEC are being carried out in the political sphere. Only after the definitions, the technical area will make the evaluations on the Budget. Regarding the choice of the future Minister of Finance, he did not provide an estimate of when this should be done. “The president [eleito] Lula will decide this when he deems it necessary,” he replied.
