Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff has declared a war on drug trafficking, trading and consumption fulfilling a promise made during her election campaign.
At a ceremony, she announced the establishment of 49 Regional Centers of Reference on “crack” and other drugs in public universities.
In the centers, health professionals will be trained and drug addicts will have consultations with social workers for treatment and prevention.
Rousseff said that the fight against drugs will be conducted on three fronts: prevention, assistance to users and their families and combating drug trafficking.
“We have an extremely worrying situation concerning drugs and crime. My government will promote a systematic combat against crack. I have the commitment to a relentless struggle against crack,” Rousseff said.
“This drug has a very high capacity to spread because it is cheap and it disintegrates personalities and social relations,” she said.
According to the president, the fight against drugs requires a fight against organised crime, so it is necessary to strengthen the Federal Police and border control. (more…)
Brazilian financial-market analysts and economists raised their 2011 and 2012 inflation forecasts, a survey by the Brazilian central bank showed Monday.
The weekly survey places the 2011 year-end forecast for Brazil’s inflation rate at 5.75%, up from 5.66% a week earlier. The estimate is above the central bank’s inflation target of 4.5% for the year.
Survey respondents also increased their average estimate for 2012 inflation to 4.70% from 4.61%.
Last year, the country’s inflation rate reached 5.91%-the highest since 2004, when inflation hit 7.6%.
The central bank’s weekly survey tracks the opinions of 100 analysts and economists from banks and brokerages and reports the average of their expectations. (more…)
