Budget cuts will not hold back government, says Rousseff
President Dilma Rousseff said the cuts on the government budget for 2015 that will be announced Friday (May 22) will neither be too big nor too small. 
President Dilma Rousseff said the cuts on the government budget for 2015 that will be announced Friday (May 22) will neither be too big nor too small. She assured that the austerity policy will not hold the government back, but gave no details as to the amount of the spending cuts.
“Some think [the cuts] will be small. They won't. They'll neither be larger than needed nor smaller than would be effective. They've got to be just right,” the president said.
Rousseff compared the economy to home economics. “The government will spend less on some items. It's like running a home – if you save on something you're not keeping the home from operating: you're just saving. We'll save enough to allow the country to grow in a sustained way.”
Earlier this week, Finance Minister Joaquim Levy said the cut should amount somewhere in between $23–$27 billion. Based on the budget directive for 2015, Friday is the deadline for issuing the decree that will block the so-called non-mandatory costs.
The cuts are needed to ensure the country will meet this year's primary surplus target (savings that allow the country to pay interest on public debt) of 1.2% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). But they will be revised every two months of the decree date, based on the estimated tax revenue and the outlook for economic growth.
Translated by Mayra Borges
Fonte: Budget cuts will not hold back government, says Rousseff
