Nelson Motta
Reporter - Agência Brasil

Brasília - The minister of Institutional Relations, Jaques Wagner, said, yesterday (14), that positive results in the economy and the government's social programs are responsible for the growing approval ratings earned by president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva's Administration.

Among the factors accounting for the better ratings, Wagner identified the decline in unemployment, the announcement of the hike in the minimum wage, the reindexation of income tax brackets, the record trade surplus in the first month of the year, and the fact that the Brazil risk premium is down to "a level never before witnessed in the country's history." He also singled out foreign investments and Brazil's increasingly respected position in the international "constellation."

According to the minister, the CNT/Sensus poll captures a moment showing that president Lula's ability to bounce back is based on concrete elements. "These elements are the results we are managing to achieve in the economy. Companies with good balance sheets, improvements in workers' salaries, the Family Grant program, and the news about education and housing," he remarked.

Wagner claimed that the population is beginning to realize this, distinguishing it from problems involving "deviant behavior, that have to be investigated and punished," and comprehending that "life goes on." According to the minister, "life goes on" means improvements in the economy and people's income. "When this happens, society's response is a positive one," he concluded.

Translation: David Silberstein