Bolsonaro defends recreation of the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Services

President Jair Bolsonaro (PL), candidate for reelection, has again promised to recreate the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Services if reelected and, according to him, the Minister of Economy, Paulo Guedes, is in agreement with the measure – even if that means loss of power.

“Guedes worked out and his big test of fire was in the pandemic. Few resisted with the tenacity that Paulo Guedes had”, he declared, in an attempt to ward off the promise to withdraw attributions from the Ministry of Economy to an alleged wear and tear of Guedes. The statements were made during a meeting promoted by the Brazilian Association of Supermarkets (Abras).

Elected in 2018 with the flag of downsizing the state, Bolsonaro made a mea culpa. “I had the wrong idea. A ministry is not that expensive,” he stated.

For Bolsonaro, the country’s “great administrative reform” has already been carried out. “We have already carried out the major administrative reform, you have not seen an explosion of competitions”, he defended, regarding the performance of the Executive. In defense of his government twelve days before the elections, Bolsonaro praised the performance of his ministerial team.

In addition to Guedes, he mentioned the Minister of Mines and Energy, Adolfo Sachsida. “Sachsida chose a fantastic person to be at Petrobras”, he declared, referring to the president of the state-owned company, Caio Paes de Andrade.

“The results are there”, he celebrated, about the recent drop in fuel prices in an election year. Bolsonaro highlighted achievements of his government that are dear to the business community, such as the legal framework for sanitation and the pension reform. “We took a big macroeconomic vaccine,” said the president. “Today, the policy that Paulo Guedes implemented in Brazil is a reality,” he then defended.

exemption from the sheet

Bolsonaro also signaled the possibility of expanding the payroll tax exemption, which currently benefits 17 sectors of the economy, and said that Guedes should endorse the measure. Makes everyone’s life easier. In my opinion, the economy rotates more quickly, employment is created, which has direct positive effects”, he declared.

“I believe that Paulo Guedes will accept the inclusion of more categories in this exemption agenda, especially because we are breaking a collection record”, he added. “You don’t have to go back to charging what would be 20% of the payroll”. Bolsonaro reported that, last year, Guedes defended the extension of the payroll exemption for just one more year. After his intervention at a meeting at the Palácio do Planalto, the measure would have been extended until the end of 2023, that is, for another two years.