Brazil: spending ceiling used as guideline for 2017 Budget

Finance Minister Henrique Meirelles said on Tuesday (Aug. 23) that the spending ceiling will be used as a guideline for 2017 Budget. The government has until August 31 to submit next year’s Annual Budget bill to Congress. A Proposed Amendment to the Constitution (PEC) to make the spending limit effective in the coming years is also under deliberation.

"It is the first effective movement to control the spending development in Brazil in recent decades. It is an important and structural movement," he pointed out.

The minister declared again that this is an essential measure to build the confidence of Brazilian society that spending is under control and that the Brazilian government will be solvent in the future. According to Meirelles, given the conditions, the country will resume growth and confidence will be restored. "We will be able to resume growth and jobs will be created again, with income increasing and inflation falling," he said. The minister also pledged that the spending ceiling will stimulate investments in health and education.

Meirelles also pointed out that the proposal is being developed and the expectation is that the final text will be voted from late October to November.

The minister said again that the Congress deliberations are legitimate, especially when dealing with changes to the Constitution.

Translated by Amarílis Anchieta