Wellington Dias: "There is no incompatibility between helping the poorest and controlling public finances."
The senator-elect also criticized the spending cap: "The current fiscal anchor has failed... There will be a review," he promised.
By Ricardo Brito (Reuters) - Senator-elect Wellington Dias (PT) stated this Sunday that the balance between investment in social programs and control of public spending is not incompatible, and criticized the current spending cap system, affirming that the government of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva will seek a revision of the current fiscal anchor.
"There is no incompatibility between serving the poorest and controlling public accounts," said Dias, a senator-elect from Piauí and appointed by Lula to coordinate movements and dialogues surrounding the budget.
"I realize that there is already a growing consensus among the most diverse lines of economic thought that the current fiscal anchor has failed... There will be a review of the current fiscal anchor, and through dialogue, an efficient proposal will be developed that can guarantee that Brazil has control of public accounts, fiscal responsibility, the ability to honor its commitments, but also social commitment and generate surpluses for more and more investments," he stated.
In the draft of the Proposed Amendment to the Constitution (PEC) delivered to Congress last week, the elected government proposed to "exempt" 175 billion reais from the spending cap for the payment of Bolsa Família starting in 2023, in the amount of 600 reais, with an additional 150 reais per child, without a specified deadline. The proposal also involves authorization for part of extraordinary revenues to be outside the spending cap and redirected to investments, up to a limit of 23 billion reais in the coming year.
"The Bolsa Família amendment, in addition to guaranteeing the poor a place in the budget and resources for the functioning of public services, from where the money was taken, also ensures resources to expand investments, and the goal is to reach close to 1% of GDP in public investments to integrate with private investments and make the economy grow," said Dias.
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