Levy demands fiscal adjustment "as quickly as possible"
The Finance Minister met with the Vice President and political coordinator of the government, Michel Temer, and government leaders to discuss the issue; "It is very important that this fiscal adjustment is voted on in Congress as quickly as possible. Even so that we can move on to what I called the agenda beyond the adjustment. We have to take the steps," said Joaquim Levy.
247 - Finance Minister Joaquim Levy urged the National Congress to expedite the voting on fiscal adjustment measures. According to him, it is necessary to vote on the measures "as quickly as possible" so that the country can return to growth. On Tuesday (5), he met with the vice-president and political coordinator of the government, Michel Temer, and the government leaders in the Senate, Delcídio Amaral (PT-MS), and of the PMDB, Eunício Oliveira (PMDB-CE).
"We are dealing with the measures that are being negotiated. I think there has been a growing convergence. It is very important that this fiscal adjustment is voted on in Congress as quickly as possible. Even so that we can move on to what I called the agenda beyond the adjustment. We have to take the steps," he said.
Levy defended the need to maintain the government's proposals. According to him, the changes to grant benefits such as the salary bonus and unemployment insurance do not affect labor rights, as the opposition claims. "There has been a very clear understanding that the integrity of the measures must be maintained. These are measures that do not take away workers' rights. They are measures that fix loopholes that even went against the programs," he emphasized.
"We want to organize it to become like Bolsa Família, a permanent program, a program where we know that those who are there are there because they met clear registration requirements. That's the kind of action that's in the measures. Everyone who understands what we're doing feels more comfortable, because they understand that we haven't taken away workers' rights. We are strengthening programs that are essential for the peace of mind of Brazilian families," he added.
Below is a news report from Agência Brasil:
Joaquim Levy says it's necessary to vote on provisional measures and move forward with an agenda beyond the adjustment.
Yara Aquino - Finance Minister Joaquim Levy said today (5) that it is necessary to vote quickly on the fiscal adjustment measures sent by the government to the National Congress in order to create an environment favorable to the country's growth and increased employment. Levy said that the approval of the measures is the first step towards an "agenda beyond adjustment", which he called "triple A".
"We need to vote on these measures that are in Congress as quickly as possible because they create a new environment. It's a first step towards what we need to do to get back on the path to growth, to increasing employment," he said.
Speaking about negotiations with parliamentarians for the approval of Provisional Measures 664 and 665, Levy said it is important to maintain the integrity of the measures and, again, reinforced that they do not take away workers' rights. Provisional Measure 664 alters pension rules and Provisional Measure 665 alters the rules for unemployment insurance, fishing ban insurance, and salary bonus.
"There has been a very clear understanding that we have to maintain the integrity of the measures. As we know, these are measures that do not take away any rights from the worker, but that, in fact, fix loopholes that even went against the programs," said the minister.
Joaquim Levy participated in an early afternoon meeting with Vice President Michel Temer, who has been negotiating with parliamentarians for the approval of fiscal adjustment measures, and with Senators Delcídio Amaral (PT-MS) and Eunício Oliveira (PMDB-CE).