London, July 14, 2003 (BBC Brasil, Agência Brasil - ABr) - President Luiz Inãcio Lula da Silva said that the original project presented by the government to the National Congress is "the best thing for Social Security in Brazil."
"Any change in the government's original proposal will have to gain the acquiescence of the federal government, the 27 governors, and the Social Development Council," Lula affirmed in an exclusive interview with the BBC Brazil, this Sunday (13), in London.
"The proposal is not the President's; it really comes from the federal government and the 27 state governors," Lula said, in answer to a question about the possibility that the government might yield on pivotal items in the project, such as parity in pensions paid to civil servants and the end of integral benefits.
"We wish to maintain the credibility and reliability we achieved with the governors, and they will have to say they agree with any changes."
CHANGES IN CONGRESS
During the interview, Lula answered questions sent by internet users of various nationalities to the BBC Brazil site and presented by the director of BBC Brazil, Américo Martins. Nearly 5 thousand questions, in English, Spanish, and Portuguese, were received.
The President affirmed that Congress has the right to propose changes in the Social Security reform proposal. "It is no original sin for the National Congress to make changes in the government's proposal," said the President, with a reservation.
"If changing the government's proposal changes the purposes of the reform, the reform really makes no sense. That is why we want to preserve the basic principles of the government's original proposal."
SOCIAL JUSTICE
Carlos Eduardo, of Poços de Caldas (MG), wanted to know whether the President didn't regret having opposed the constitutional reforms in the past. "No," affirmed Lula, who recalled that in the late 1980's the PT was already proposing changes in Social Security, moving in the direction of a single, universal retirement system.
"We never agreed with two or more types of Social Security. We understood that the system should be universal, with a ceiling above which those who want to receive more, if they are able to pay more, could have complementary pension plans."
Ludenrique Campos Freire, from Brasília, asked why the federal government has not been as successful in the social area as PT administrations have been in the states and municipalities, in the listener's opinion. The President replied by saying that the first year is always the most difficult one for any government. "In the first year, you work with the budget left by the previous administration, whose priorities were different."
Referring to the major project presented by the Administration in the social area in its first months in office, the Zero Hunger program, Lula affirmed: "You can't end the hunger of 43 million people through sleight of hand."
The complete text and images of President Lula's interview will be available today (14) on the BBC Brazil and Agência Brasil sites.
The information comes from the BBC Brazil. (DAS)
