Brasília - Yesterday president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva spoke with George W. Bush of the United States for 15 minutes on the phone. Lula asked Bush to support changes in International Monetary Fund classification of government outlays in productive sectors. Lula wants such outlays to be seen as investments and not expenditures; that way the government would be able to spend more while remaining within fiscal limits set by the fund.

Last Sunday, minister of Finance, Antonio Palocci, spoke to the visiting managing director of the IMF, Horst Kohler, about the same issue. (AB)