Humberto defends Dilma's actions in Pernambuco.

PE247 – Senator Humberto Costa (PT-PE) stated that President Dilma Rousseff (PT) is continuing a "true revolution in the state's economy," a process that, according to him, began during Lula's government with the release of funds to Pernambuco. The statement came after a controversial article in the newspaper O Estado de S. Paulo, published last weekend, which claimed that the Federal Government was reducing funding to the Pernambuco government as a form of retaliation against Governor Eduardo Campos (PSB), currently an ally of the PT, but who may be an opponent of President Dilma Rousseff (PT) in the 2014 presidential elections.

“Just last week, more than R$ 2,2 billion in investments were announced for our State, with R$ 542 million for Recife – in programs to expand and adapt the water distribution network, sanitation works, implementation of the public passenger transport corridor and paving and upgrading of urban roads,” said Humberto Costa this Wednesday (13) on the Senate floor.

According to the congressman, the Northeast region's above-average national growth is due to the fact that former President Lula implemented a policy of reversing priorities, which the Dilma government continued, to reduce regional inequalities. "Pernambuco, in line with the policy of reducing regional inequalities, has been the destination of many federal government investments since President Lula's administration. Now, once again, the state is benefiting from new transfers," he added.

The congressman stated that one cannot analyze the Federal Government's investments by considering only voluntary transfers made through agreements and contracts at the request of the states. “A considerable portion of the PAC (Growth Acceleration Program) and state-owned company investments is executed by the states themselves. For example, BR-204 and BR-408 highways, the dredging of the Port of Suape, urban mobility projects, the Serro Azul dam, among other structuring works of the PAC, are being carried out in Pernambuco with resources transferred by the Union,” Costa assessed.

For the Workers' Party member, the Federal Government still faces many challenges in reducing social inequality: "We will build an increasingly better country, with special attention to historically less favored regions," he noted. Regarding the Estadão article, Costa said that "it is necessary to have a better understanding of the numbers. This is to avoid the political use of the information."