07/16/2024 – 21:39
President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said that one of the people he listens to the most is his wife, Janja Lula da Silva. According to the PT member, she wants to discuss issues such as politics and the economy.
“Janja is a person who often says no to me. She wants to discuss the economy, human rights policy, gender policy, equality policy. She wants to discuss everything and I think it’s wonderful,” said the president, when asked if there are people today, as in previous terms, who can advise him and alert him about government issues.
‘No one is forbidden from talking to me’
Lula disagreed with the statement that few people would have the courage to confront him within his team. According to the president, “many people” feel comfortable doing so, “because I establish a very genuine relationship with people, with my ministers and with others who are not part of my government,” stating that no one is “prohibited” from speaking to him.
“I will never pout, I will never frown because you said something I don’t like. If you say something I don’t like, sometimes those things can help me more than if you were a bootlicker,” said the president, saying he “gives protection” so that the team can make “sincere suggestions.”
Since the beginning of his term, there has been talk behind the scenes that, within the president’s team, few people would have the courage to stand up to the PT member, which could create “blind spots” for Lula, who would not be properly informed of the main problems of his administration.
Lula also disagreed that he had more contact with representatives of other branches of government during his previous terms. “It is not true that I had more contact with other politicians during my first term than I do now,” he said.
The president also cited his mother, Dona Lindu, as an example of how he learned fiscal responsibility, observing how she managed the household accounts during his childhood. According to the president, he is “aware of what he has to do” and that, as he learned at home, the country will only spend what it has, and will only go into debt “for something that increases our assets”. The argument was used to justify the country’s deficit being zero, 0.1% or 0.2%.
“It’s just a matter of vision. You don’t have to set a goal and achieve it if you have more important things to do. This country is very big, it’s very powerful. What’s small is the minds of the country’s leaders and the minds of some speculators,” said Lula, who promised to do everything predictably. “We’ll do it at noon, not midnight, with everyone watching,” he said.
Despite citing improvements in the economy, the president continued to criticize the basic interest rate, a topic that has bothered him since he took office in 2022. According to Lula, the interest rate is the only thing that is “not under control.” Lula, however, this time did not mention the president of the Central Bank, Roberto Campos Neto, by name.
The leader of the local government has become the PT’s main target due to the rate of decline in the Selic rate, which is currently at 10.50% per year. The PT member is also not happy with Campos Neto’s closeness to former president Jair Bolsonaro and his allies, such as the governor of São Paulo, Tarcísio de Freitas (Republicans).
U.S
Lula also commented again on the attack against Donald Trump, former American president, representative of the country’s far right, who is trying to return to office in this year’s elections. According to the president, Trump will try to “take advantage” of the attack he suffered last Saturday, when he was grazed by a bullet in the ear during a rally.
According to the PT member, the photo of the American with his arm raised and his face covered in blood could not be better for the campaign even if it had been commissioned. “I honestly think that Trump will try to take advantage of this. That photo of him with his arm raised, if it had been commissioned, would not have come out better. He will exploit this,” said the president. “And it is up to the Democrats to find a way to not allow this to be the reason why he can get votes,” he added.
Big Techs
Lula da Silva also defended the need for “urgent” regulation of large technology companies, the so-called big techs. The Chief Executive said that he should meet this week with the Minister of Justice, Ricardo Lewandowski, to discuss the issue, and defended the construction of a proposal on the subject by listening to businessmen and the presidents of the Chamber, Arthur Lira (PP-AL), and of the Senate, Rodrigo Pacheco (PSD-MG).
“It is not possible for these companies to continue making money by spreading lies, spreading untruths, creating provocations, campaigning against vaccines, campaigning in favor of this, campaigning in favor of that, without taking into account any commitment to the truth,” said Lula.
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