Brasília, 6/26/2003 (Agência Brasil - ABr) - The leader of the government in the Senate, Aloízio Mercadante (PT-SP), in an interview on "Bom dia Brasil", on TV Globo, declared that, "there has been a substantial improvement in the country's accounts, with a trade surplus of US$10 billion in the first half that made it possible for the exchange rate to stabilize. As a result Brazilian exports remain competitive and that reduces the pressure on inflation and government accounts." According to Mercadante, the challenge is to achieve stable growth so the economy can expand, and create jobs.
Mercadante said that the fundamental instruments for achieving growth are: fiscal policy, which means spending more and investing in the farm sector; credit policy, which means lowering interest rates and expanding credit, and getting banks to reduce the bank spread and make more credit available; and exchange rate policy, which means keeping the currency stable so exports are competitive, and private sector dollar debt is manageable.
With regard to the social security (INSS) reform, Mercadante explained, "This reform has a special importance. First, it is a question of justice, because we have to keep in mind that today
40 million Brazilians are not covered by the INSS. Second, out of the 21 million retirees in this country, 16 million of them get up to R$240 [in monthly benefit payments], and not one of them gets more than R$1,581. So civil servants in the Executive, Legislative and Judiciary branches [who retire at full pay in Brazil] have to understand that it is just not feasible for them to continue receiving the retirement benefits they now receive. It is at variance with Brazilian reality."
As for the declaration by president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva yesterday at the National Industrial Confederation (CNI), that neither the Legislative nor the Judiciary branches could stop him from moving the country ahead on track, Mercadante pointed out that the reaction was unwarrented. "We have to be careful and not confuse the independence of branches of government with the personal interests (interesse corporativo) of employees of branches of government. The latter interests are best taken care of by unions, in my opinion," said the senator. He concluded by saying that government authorities who represent government power should not be involved in disputes over personal interests. (AB)
