"There's no shortage of doctors in Leblon, but there is in São Gonçalo."
In a ceremony where she announced investments of R$ 2,6 billion for urban mobility projects in the city of Rio, the president emphasized the importance of hiring foreign doctors and mentioned a banner she saw in the crowd, thanking the government for the program: "The government will do everything possible and impossible to ensure that there are enough doctors"; she also said that the country respects Brazilian doctors, but that there is a shortage of professionals; Dilma highlighted her partnership with the state government and local mayors; and called Sérgio Cabral and his vice-governor, Luiz Fernando Pezão, "strategic partners".
Rio247 – President Dilma Rousseff highlighted on Wednesday, the 11th, the importance of the partnership between the federal government and the governor of Rio de Janeiro, Sérgio Cabral (PMDB), as well as the mayors of the region. Dilma's alliance with Rio was threatened by the candidacy of the Workers' Party senator Lindbergh Farias in the state, instead of supporting the PMDB candidate, Vice-Governor Luiz Fernando Pezão. During the ceremony announcing investments in urban mobility in the region, earlier this afternoon, the president, in her speech, called Cabral and Pezão "strategic partners".
Regarding urban mobility, Dilma raised three figures: "First, the size of the investment just in the project phase. (...) We are investing 2,57 billion in partnership with the Sérgio Cabral government. The second figure is 22 km of this line. I remind you that many cities do not have proportionally this amount of kilometers, considering the population. (...) Third, is the number of people benefited: 1,8 million people. A government should be measured not by how much brick or iron the work consumes, or whether it is beautiful or not. A government should be measured by the work it does, whether it benefits the people or not," she stated.
The president announced R$ 2,6 billion for urban mobility projects in the state. The funds from the Growth Acceleration Program (PAC) are to be used for the implementation of line 3 of the Rio de Janeiro Metropolitan System. Of the amount to be allocated, R$ 2,57 billion will be used for the construction of the monorail for the Niterói-São Gonçalo-Itaboraí section. The remaining R$ 65 million will be used for the production of projects and studies for works in the municipalities of Rio de Janeiro, São Gonçalo, Duque de Caxias, and Nova Iguaçu.
Other investments
The funds are part of the R$ 50 billion announced by President Dilma Rousseff in June for new investments in urban mobility in the country. The city of Rio de Janeiro will receive R$ 50 million to plan the works for phase two of the Transbrasil BRT for the Deodoro-Santa Cruz section. This project will complete the first phase, which connects the city center to Deodoro via Avenida Brasil.
Another project will involve the construction of 17 km of BRT (Bus Rapid Transit) connecting to the Transoeste BRT in Guaratiba. São Gonçalo will also receive R$ 9 million for project development. One of these projects will be for the road and cycle path system to be built parallel to the Niterói-São Gonçalo-Itaboraí monorail. The other will be for the construction of 20 km of bus corridor.
The president will also announce an investment of R$ 1,5 million for the municipality of Duque de Caxias to conduct a technical and economic feasibility study for the light rail and bus rapid transit (BRT) projects. The light rail will cover the 22 km stretch between the city center and Santa Cruz da Serra. The BRT will connect the 20 km between Gramacho and Imbarié.
The municipality of Nova Iguaçu will receive R$ 4,5 million for project development. One of these projects will be for the construction of a 20 km bus corridor, continuing the Via Light project executed by the state government. The other project will be for the construction of an additional 8 km of bus corridor along the Centro-Dutra-Eixão Leste/Oeste stretch.
More Doctors
Commenting on a banner she saw in the crowd that read, "Thank you, Dilma, for the More Doctors program," the president reiterated the importance of the program and the importation of foreign professionals to the country. She also countered criticisms from medical associations that the government does not respect the Brazilian medical profession. "We respect the doctors of this country, but we have an assessment: there is a shortage of doctors. And the government will do everything possible and impossible to ensure that there are enough doctors."
She further stated that, given opinion polls and what the people are demanding in the streets, the government realized there was a serious problem in the area of Health. "The government cannot be deaf," she affirmed. "That's why we created the More Doctors program." According to her, "people's health cannot wait until doctors graduate, so we bring them from abroad." Dilma also mentioned the inequality in Rio regarding this issue: "In Leblon there is no shortage of doctors, but here [in the São Gonçalo region], there is."
From the Planalto Blog