Government leader calls on opposition to vote for austerity measures for the country's future.

Ceara 247 - In the public hearing with Finance Minister Joaquim Levy, this Wednesday (29), the government leader in the Chamber, José Guimarães (PT-CE), argued that, if the opposition is committed to Brazil, it should vote for the economic adjustment measures proposed by the Executive. “If they like Minister Levy so much, who is in perfect harmony with the Dilma government, vote for the adjustments to contribute to the country,” he proposed, after praise from opposition leaders for the minister.

The government leader emphasized that the adjustment is necessary to resume economic growth, since Brazil is a globalized country and suffers the consequences of the global crisis. Furthermore, according to Guimarães, during the twelve years of the PT government, the State financed all social policies and cannot continue to foot the entire bill.

Therefore, in his opinion, the opposition should be interested in the major reforms necessary to allow the continued funding of these projects. "The opposition cannot fight the country; fight the PT, but not Brazil," he said.

Guimarães also emphasized that the provisional measures (664/15 and 665/15) of the adjustment do not remove workers' rights. Regarding unemployment insurance, he highlighted that the government is only adjusting the period worked to grant payment, while the changes to the fishing ban insurance serve to "moralize this benefit, created during Lula's government."

Growth path - Finance Minister Joaquim Levy recently reiterated in the Chamber of Deputies that the fiscal adjustment proposed by the federal government aims to put Brazil back on the path to growth. According to the minister, who participated in a hearing in the Chamber, the country needs to respond to the interruption of the countercyclical policies adopted by other countries after the 2008 economic crisis.

While Brazil initially benefited from the influx of foreign capital and a rise in the price of Brazilian raw materials, the opposite effect later occurred. “An anti-cyclical policy cannot be permanent. Our partners are abandoning it, the situation has changed. And the government decided to change. If it hadn't changed, we would have faced a very serious situation. That's why it's absolutely crucial that we re-engineer, moving away from a model that stimulated demand to one that stimulated supply,” he explained.

According to Levy, fiscal adjustment is the first step in Brazil's economic recovery, but investment in infrastructure is still necessary. "How are we going to grow? Infrastructure is the way." For now, according to Levy, some of the risks to be avoided are the interruption of fiscal adjustment and the creation of new expenses without new tax revenues.

Expense reduction - According to the minister, in order to increase the public savings rate, the country also needs to reduce spending and, in many cases, decrease tax breaks granted as part of the demand stimulus policy. Data from the Federal Revenue Service indicate that tax exemptions and tax waivers cost the country R$ 112,7 billion in 2014, which contributed to the imbalance. "The government is making tough cuts," he said.

Thus, according to Joaquim Levy, the adjustment also aims to guarantee the competitiveness of the economy, in addition to protecting social gains and the "new middle class".

Joaquim Levy asked parliamentarians to approve the provisional measures dealing with fiscal adjustment that are being processed in Congress (MPs 664/14, 665/14 and 668/15). The first two change several rules for obtaining social security and labor benefits, including unemployment insurance, fishing allowance, and survivor's pension. MP 668 increases PIS and Cofins tax rates on imports.

The minister participated in a joint public hearing before the Finance and Taxation Committee; the Economic Development, Industry and Commerce Committee; and the Labor, Administration and Public Service Committee.