Economy minister: Democracy in Brazil never been this strong

Transforming the Brazilian state is a hard and painful process, but it is taking place amid a vibrant democracy, said the country’s Economy Minister Paulo Guedes during a conference at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, in Washington, on Tuesday (Nov. 26).

Guedes noted that much of what is heard about Brazil is distorted and should be ignored. “What you hear is that there’s a mess. Don’t pay attention to that. [Brazil] is a vibrant democracy, with independent branches,” he argued, adding that the country’s democracy was never strong as it is today.

The minister went on to declare there are no corruption scandals in the country, Brazil will not illegally burn forests, and the country respects the Paris Agreement. He advocated people’s right to stage peaceful demonstrations. “Democracy is noisy. We respect and cherish that. We have no problems with public demonstrations,” he stated.

Guedes further noted that those who won the elections must be respected and that the dispute over power must take place in the polls.

At the Washington conference, the minister spoke in favor of the overhauls and economic measures being adopted by Brazil—including the reform in the pension system, the fiscal adjustments, the decentralization of public revenues coupled with a better distribution across states and municipalities, privatization plans, and the administrative and tax reforms.