07/19/2024 – 20:32
The chief minister of the general secretariat of the Presidency of the Republic, Márcio Macêdo, said this Friday, the 19th, that President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva informed representatives of social movements that he will maintain fiscal austerity and measures to combat inflation, while at the same time continuing to invest in social programs.
“There is no contradiction between controlling inflation and investing in public policies,” said Macêdo, in a brief press conference held on the evening of Friday the 19th. According to him, the meeting did not address the contingency measures being studied by the government to control public accounts.
Lula participated in a meeting with leaders of social movements on the afternoon of Friday the 19th, in São Paulo. The presidential entourage also included the Ministers of Finance, Fernando Haddad, and Agrarian Development, Paulo Teixeira.
The meeting took place at the Casa Cultural do Povo Brasileiro, in the Campos Elíseos neighborhood of São Paulo. Around 70 organizations from the popular field linked to the Frentes Brasil Popular and Povo Sem Medo were present.
Lula left without speaking to the press.
At the press conference, Macêdo commented that today’s meeting is part of a government initiative to reestablish dialogue with all sectors of society. “It was a meeting with movements that have always supported President Lula, that fought against fascism, and today are present helping to govern Brazil,” said the secretary.
The national leader of the Landless Workers’ Movement, João Paulo Rodrigues, said that the meeting took a while to happen and asked for two more meetings this year, in addition to regular meetings with ministers. “This meeting took a while, it could have happened earlier,” he said at the press conference.
Rodrigues then praised Lula’s attitude during the meeting. “The impression I have is that we met a very optimistic president,” he said, mentioning that he heard explanations about the economic scenario, as well as “difficulties in delivering” and “compromising with Congress,” as well as references to “legacies” from the previous government. According to Rodrigues, Lula promised that “the government will be as good as in the past.”
The vice president of the Central Única dos Trabalhadores (CUT), Juvandia Moreira Leite, said that Lula has respected the sector’s agenda, with measures such as increasing the income tax exemption bracket, the minimum wage adjustment policy, the resumption of the Ministry of Labor and social programs. “The president has come to the aid of the social movement, which was unthinkable in the last government. This is respect for democracy,” she praised.
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