Lula wants public banks to lend money for projects in municipalities.
The announcement was made at the meeting of the National Front of Mayors.
Brazil Agency - President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said this Tuesday (14), at the meeting of the National Front of Mayors (FNP), in Brasília, that federal public banks should lend resources to finance works in states and municipalities. The FNP is the entity that brings together managers from all capitals and municipalities with more than 80 inhabitants.
"I will work to ensure that public banks lend resources to cities with the capacity to take on debt and obtain financing. It makes no sense for banks to refuse to lend money to a state or a mayor so that they can carry out a project. If the state and the city have the means, the money will not remain in the banks' coffers earning interest. It will generate returns through projects that improve people's quality of life," said the president.
Upon arriving at the 84th General Meeting of the FNP (National Front of Mayors), held at a hotel in the federal capital, Lula participated in the inauguration of the Cities Room at Caixa Econômica Federal (a Brazilian state-owned bank). This department of the state-owned bank will prioritize direct relationships with municipal leaders for the granting of financing.
Houses
Speaking about the resumption of the "Minha Casa, Minha Vida" (My House, My Life) program, President Lula asked for the support of mayors in granting public land for the construction of affordable housing. "If the mayor can grant the land, we can build much cheaper houses for the poorest people in this country," he argued. According to the president, there are approximately 186 houses with construction projects halted by previous administrations, in addition to the goal of millions of homes in the coming years.
According to Lula, the federal government will also assess the Union's assets that could be allocated to affordable housing. "I instructed our Minister of Planning to conduct a survey of all public lands owned by the federal government and to inventory all assets in the capital cities—buildings, houses, shops, everything that is abandoned—so that we can try to transform them into decent housing for the poorest people in this country. This is how we can end the housing deficit, which is a chronic problem," he said.
Federal relationship
Re-elected for another 2-year term as head of the FNP, the mayor of Aracaju, Edvaldo Nogueira, highlighted Lula's presence at the meeting and said that the organization was not received by the previous government. "We were never received by the then President of the Republic [Jair Bolsonaro]. And this year, we have already been received by Your Excellency twice," he stated. Nogueira reinforced the proposal to create a Federation Council, to bring together, in a balanced way, representatives of the federal government, state governments, and municipal governments.
The president reiterated that it is impossible to govern the country without taking into account the demands of mayors and governors, and pledged to maintain a republican relationship with all municipal leaders in the country. "I don't want to know what party you belong to, what team you support, I don't want to know your religion. The only thing I want to know is that you were elected by the democratic vote of the people of the city where you live," said the president.