Lula believes GDP will surpass IMF forecast

Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said Thursday (Jun. 1) he is confident about the growth of the Brazilian economy. In his view, the gross domestic product (GDP) will outperform the estimates made by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in 2023.

In its report, Brazil’s statistics bureau IBGE stated the GDP was up 1.9 percent in the first quarter of 2023 from the last three months of last year.

In April, the IMF reduced the predicted increase in the Brazilian economy to 0.9 percent in 2023, below the world average as well as the average for Latin America and the Caribbean. In January’s report, the prediction was higher, 1.2 percent.

“We’re going to grow more than the IMF is expecting. Since we have already recovered all our social policies, the money is starting to circulate among the poorest people in this country. These people will become consumers, and this consumption will generate more commerce. This trade will generate more employment; this employment will generate higher pay; and this will generate more jobs and more consumption. This is what I am betting on,” the president told reporters.