São Paulo, March 2, 2004 (Agência Brasil - ABr) - The managing director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Horst Köhler, said that Brazil is on the right path to development. In a collective interview last evening (1) in São Paulo, after spending the day in Minas Gerais visiting social projects such as "Milk for Life" and "Backland Kitchens," Köhler declared that he is really "very impressed" by the readiness and creativity of Brazilian citizens.

The director of the Fund also stated that he is impressed by the accomplishment of many of the items on the agenda announced by President Lula at the end of 2002, such as the tax and social security reforms. "These reforms will have medium and long-term effects on the country's growth," Köhler affirmed.

On Sunday (29) Köhler met with President Lula, the Minister of Finance, Antônio Palocci, and the president of the Central Bank, Henrique Meirelles. On the agenda, the need to intensify investments in infrastructure as a instrument for growth. "The Fund has already acknowledged that the reduction in investments is not a positive factor, and we are looking into how to help Latin America in this, but without abandoning fiscal prudence, or else things might backfire," he said.

One of the routes being examined by the Fund are the public-private partnerships. The IMF is also considering the possibility of modifications in the calculation of the primary surplus, such as the removal of spending on infrastructure maintenance from the investment category (these costs would be computed as operating expenses).

But nothing seems to have caught Köhler's attention as much as the projects he visited yesterday in Minas. After repeating various times that he was "very impressed," the IMF director insisted on affirming that "the Brazilian people want to help themselves and need help. I believe that the international community will help and that the IMF will also do its part in the Zero Hunger Program." (DAS)