Curitiba, August 15, 2003 (Agência Brasil - ABr) - President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said, on Thursday (14), in Curitiba, that the 2004-2007 Pluriannual Plan, which will be submitted to the National Congress at the end of this month, will have investments in infrastructure as one of its priorities. According to the President, some projects will be undertaken by the federal government, and others will be done in partnership with the private sector and foreign investors.

For the President, the large quantity of public works that are paralyzed in Brazil constitutes the result of a lack of planning, in consequence of which the Public Interest Defender's Office and environmental organizations are able to bring suit to halt construction. Another problem, according to Lula, is that federal government decisions were made without the participation of governors, mayors, and society. "As a result, everyone who is elected appropriates the right to interrupt projects that are underway." he affirmed.

According to Lula, deficiencies in the country's infrastructure need to be resolved with urgency. To avoid judicial stop orders and embargos, public works will be carried out in permanent consultation with the Public Interest Defender's Office and the Ministry of Environment.

The President also emphasized the need to build a partnership among the government, society, and the business class to resume economic growth. "This view of economic development, as a social contract based on collective interests, is one of the bases of our pluriannual plan. Development will only be development in fact, when it constitutes the political expression of a collective desire for prosperity, expressed through the construction of a firm social consensus." he affirmed. (DAS)