Dilma: opposition uses false inflation data
"They use false arguments and forget that we are in one of the most controlled inflation processes, especially when compared to what happened before 2003," said President Dilma at the PCdoB congress; "We are a government committed to economic stability, but also committed to generating jobs for our population."
SAO PAULO (Reuters) - President Dilma Rousseff on Friday countered opposition criticism of her government's economic policy, accusing adversaries of using "false arguments" to claim that inflation is out of control, and chose not to comment on the arrests related to the Mensalão scandal.
In a speech during the Congress of the PCdoB, a party in Dilma's allied base, the president stated that inflation will close within the target set by the government, of 4,5 percent per year with a tolerance range of 2 percentage points, for the tenth consecutive year.
"They use false arguments and forget that we are in one of the most controlled inflation processes, especially when compared to what happened before 2003," said Dilma, referring to the year in which her predecessor and political mentor, former President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, took office.
"Our fiscal situation has never been more solid," he assured. "We paid off our external debt, a ghost that haunted our country for decades."
Dilma also stated that during the ten years of the PT's presidency, a policy of increasing the minimum wage was initiated, which, according to her, her opponents are now trying to "turn to dust".
"We are a government committed to economic stability, but also committed to generating jobs for our population."
The president asserted that the country's reserve volume guarantees it a "capacity to react" against external shocks. "There is no contradiction between expanding investments and guaranteeing the purchasing power of the Brazilian population. On the contrary," she argued.
On the day that Workers' Party leaders convicted by the Supreme Federal Court (STF) for their involvement in the Mensalão scandal had their arrests ordered, the president chose not to comment on the episode.
However, the president of the PCdoB, Renato Rabelo, criticized the STF's decision, compared the trial to the Inquisition, and expressed "solidarity with the PT members" during his speech at the party's event.
"The PCdoB sees no reason for celebration and does not believe that justice is being done. This trial was triggered by an eminently political event," stated Rabelo, receiving a long standing ovation.
GOVERNMENT PROGRAMS
In her speech, Dilma listed programs from her government, including Minha Casa, Minha Vida (My House, My Life) and Pronatec, guaranteeing that by the end of 2014 the housing program will have 3,75 homes.
The president also defended investing oil royalty revenues in education and praised the Bolsa Família program, which she called "a right of Brazilian citizens."
Dilma took advantage of the speech, once again, to talk about the Mais Médicos program, one of the main banners of her government and which, according to polls, has broad support among the population.
"We will have 6.600 doctors in Brazil by the end of this year," he assured, saying that this contingent will serve more than 20 million Brazilians.
(Reporting by Eduardo Simões)