PSDB dismantles BNDES policy for the Northeast, says Paulão.

Alagoas 247 - Federal deputy Paulão (PT-AL) protested this Wednesday, the 8th, in the Chamber of Deputies against the drastic 62% reduction in BNDES disbursements to the Northeast region in 2016.

The bank is now under the control of the PSDB party, which, according to the congressman, prioritized the southern and southeastern regions. "This is the elitist policy of a coup government. This result from BNDES in 2016 demonstrates that the coup came to deepen social inequalities, offering economic recession to society and the productive sector," he emphasized.

According to Paulão, the economic recovery, for members of the government, only exists in spreadsheets. He lamented that, in real life, the indicators released daily prove that the economy is doing poorly. "Worse than that is the Temer government's strategy of dismantling the development policy inaugurated by Lula starting in 2003 when he empowered the BNDES. Now, under the presidency of Maria Silvia Bastos, a member of the PSDB party, the institution becomes just another bank, without muscle or policy, abandoning the meaning of the letters DES, for economic and social development," he said.

In 2016, total disbursements from BNDES amounted to R$ 88,3 billion. "This news is in today's newspapers, where some are covering up the truth and claiming that this volume was sufficient for the productive sectors. A blatant lie, because it was the weakest performance since the historical series began in 1996, precisely during the neoliberal government of FHC," he emphasizes.

He recalled that Lula took over the BNDES and in 2003 the amount disbursed was R$ 33,1 billion, 6,4% above the volume of 2002. From then until January 2015, under Dilma Rousseff's mandate, the BNDES disbursed more than R$ 175 billion to industry, commerce and services. "Lula always repeats the mantra that the recovery of the economy is only possible with the induction of investment by the State, and the BNDES fulfilled this mission, mainly for the North and Northeast regions," he said.

According to the Workers' Party congressman, the inclusive and distributive investment policy of the BNDES (Brazilian Development Bank) finally paid off for these regions. He noted that in 2005, the financing system was implemented by micro-regions, rather than by large areas and segments. From 2009 onwards, to minimize the effects of the global economic crisis, an anti-cyclical policy was adopted, coordinated by the Lula government, with the BNDES assisting all 27 Brazilian states with financing in strategic infrastructure areas that generated millions of jobs. As a result, these regions experienced positive effects with economic growth, income maintenance, and social well-being.

PSI falls 86% – Paulão stated that all sectors were harmed by the PSDB (Brazilian Social Democracy Party) administration at BNDES (Brazilian Development Bank), in line with the dismantling policy of the Temer government. The Investment Support Program (PSI), launched in 2009 and operated by BNDES and Finep (Brazilian Innovation Agency), for example, registered an 86% drop in disbursements in 2016 compared to 2015.

According to the congressman, Temer's current dismantling policy will be noticeable in other sectors due to the end of the national content policy. "The increase in imports of machinery and equipment will cripple sectors such as the mechanical and metallurgical industry; pulp and paper; and food and beverages. For example, spending on the mechanical and metallurgical industry fell by 31% in 2016, and the infrastructure sector as a whole registered a 53% drop," he concluded.

With eassim.net and consulting services