"Brazil has reason to fear"

On Twitter, President-elect Dilma Rousseff criticized the interim government's recent economic measures, which have already totaled R$ 125,4 billion in spending and tax breaks, and harshly criticized statements made this Friday by Finance Minister Henrique Meirelles; "The Temer government, with its back-and-forth, is showing its true colors: while it eliminates the rights of all, it distributes favors to a few," she posted; she called Meirelles' argument that spending on health, education, and social security in recent decades has made "greater control of expenses" impossible "absurd"; "Well, Mr. Minister, it was spending on education and health that improved the population's quality of life," the president retorted.

July 01, 2016, 16:06 pmUpdated July 04, 2018, 14:31 pm

On Twitter, President-elect Dilma Rousseff criticized the interim government's recent economic measures, which have already totaled R$ 125,4 billion in spending and tax breaks, and harshly criticized statements made this Friday by Finance Minister Henrique Meirelles; "The Temer government, with its back-and-forth, is showing its true colors: while it eliminates the rights of all, it distributes favors to a few," she posted; she called Meirelles' argument that spending on health, education, and social security in recent decades has made "greater control of expenses" impossible "absurd"; "Well, Mr. Minister, it was spending on education and health that improved the population's quality of life," the president retorted (Photo: Gisele Federicce).

247 - President-elect Dilma Rousseff took to Twitter this Friday, December 1st, to criticize the latest measures taken by Michel Temer's interim government and, especially, to rebut statements made today by Minister Henrique Meirelles.

According to the Finance Minister, spending on health, education, and social security in recent decades has made "greater control of expenses" impossible. He also defended the proposed constitutional amendment that freezes investments in health and education, adjusting them for inflation.read more).

"The Temer government, with its back-and-forth, is showing its true colors: while it eliminates the rights of all, it distributes favors to a few," Dilma posted, after warning that "Brazil has something to fear."

Since assuming the interim presidency on May 12, Temer has already approved measures totaling R$ 125,4 billion in spending and tax breaks, including debt negotiations with the states and salary adjustments for the Judiciary.

Next, Dilma called Meirelles' argument "absurd" and countered the minister's thesis: "Well, Mr. Minister, it was spending on education and health that improved the population's quality of life."

"Contrary to what the interim government seems to think, spending on health and education in Brazil is still low. For Brazil to become a developed country and nation, it will have to invest much more in education and health than it has done," argued Dilma Rousseff, recalling other achievements of the PT governments in these areas.

"The acting Finance Minister seems to take pride in saying that 'we are changing the fiscal structure for the first time since 1988.' Changing for the better is very good, but changing for the worse, harming the entire nation and the country, is a disaster that cannot be allowed," the president added.