Rio Branco, 6/19/2003 (Agência Brasil - ABr) - The country is going to grow again this year and that is why the public debates on the Multi-Year Plan (PPA) 2004-2007, which will define the country's priorities, are taking place on a solid base, declared presidential chief aide, Luiz Dulci. We are no longer talking about what we would like to do, but how we want to grow in order to benefit those who should be the beneficiaries of growth. Dulci added that the country continues to face serious shortfalls which worsened over the last decade and cannot be resolved overnight.

"We have to make choices regarding the priorities for each year between 2004 and 2007," said the minister, adding that everything that needs to be done cannot be done all at once.

Dulci said the public discussion of the PPA was a campaign promise and that the idea was to get everyone involved. "People sitting in the grandstands, watching the government do its work is not what this government wants. President Lula does not want the public in the grandstands. He wants the public participating," concluded Dulci. (AB)