Rousseff pledges to take drastic measures and not affect social programs
President Rousseff during a breakfast with journalists at the Presidential Palace
President Dilma Rousseff stated on Monday (Dec 22), during a breakfast with journalists at the Presidential Palace, that the government will have to announce “drastic” measures, but she guaranteed that “this does not mean [changing] social programs. We must take more control over other costs and carry out a few reforms.”
In spite of anticipating a tough economic outlook for the coming year, the president seemed optimistic and confident about Brazil's recovery, regardless of the results presented by other economies. “Inflation has not gone out of control; Brazil still has large reserves; and we're working to raise our productivity,” she pointed out.
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When asked about the new value set for next year's fiscal adjustment, the president did not confirm it as being $37.7 billion, as had been announced by the press in São Paulo. According to Rousseff, the subject has not been discussed by the government yet, and people should wait. “I will not discuss the measures to be adopted theoretically. Your time is not the same as my time,” she declared.
While analyzing the world scenario as it stands today, the president said that the process of crisis hit every nation and lasted for longer than the global market had predicted. She believes the resumption of the world's economy is indefinite, “even for such a dynamic economy like the US”.
The president acknowledged the problems facing emerging nations. When talking about Brics member countries, however, Rousseff denied that Russia was “on the verge of an economic crisis”. In hew view, Russia has been through some monetary turbulence, but “has big enough reserves.”
In Rousseff's opinion, the world is yet to face another period of turbulence, but there should not be a major crisis, with speculation about currencies and countries. “Brics's problem is not a financial one. None of its member countries is on the verge of a catastrophe. All of them have reserves; they're all countries in a stable situation, one way or another,” she argued.
Translated by Fabrício Ferreira
Fonte: Rousseff pledges to take drastic measures and not affect social programs
