Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva
Talking about the efficiency of the Brazilian economy president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said during the 32nd Meeting of the Full Council of Economic and Social Development, held on Wednesday, December 9, at the Itamaraty Palace, in Brazilian capital Brasília, said the economic crisis that hit international markets by the end of 2008 was needed so that sectors of Brazilian society would understand that it wasn’t a matter of luck.
“I thank God” for the crisis, given that it was necessary to have economic instability so that “some people would be able to perceive that the recovery of the economy was not just luck, but a matter of being organized,” said Lula.
Lula was talking to employers and union officials attending a session of the Economic and Social Development Council. He also said that the Brazilian businessmen are “more mature” now because they understood that wage increases don’t cause inflation.
According to the president, Brazil was prepared before the crisis and was able to get out strong enough to sustain the country’s growth and development. To maintain the same pace in 2010, Brazilians will have to work even more, he state.
“I want to do as I would if I were an expert: next year, Guido (Mantega, Brazil’s Finance Minister), we’ll have to work much more, because before we had nothing and we did not have much to worry about. Today we already have some property. And to ensure that these goods will be preserved we will need to work more than this year and last year.”
Lula said that Brazilian economic experts, in the past, when negotiating with IMF officials were not even received by the directors of the entity. The treatment, according to reports, placed the country in a lower degree of importance. Today, the situation is reversed. Brazil has already lent US$ 14 billion to the IMF and now has veto power in the institution.
The President also talked about projections of the Labor ministry on job creation this year. According to Lula, in 2009, 1.3 million jobs will be created, despite the global economic crisis. Meanwhile, the president reminded, the United States are celebrating a reduction in unemployment.
Minister Mantega announced during the event about US$ 47 billion in credits for the purchase of capital goods and tax cuts to stimulate the purchase of computers.
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