High interest rates are not good for any economy in the world, says Rui Costa to CNN

In an exclusive interview with CNN this Thursday (5), the Chief Minister of the Civil House, Rui Costa (PT), denied criticism of the Central Bank, but defended the reduction of interest rates.

“It is not about questioning the independent Central Bank, it is not about criticism. I think it is unanimous that high interest rates are not good for any economy in the world”, he highlighted.

Costa explained that he hopes that there can be joint work so that “in a short time there can be a significant reduction in interest rates”.

The minister also informed that the government intends to have a “great debate” on tax reform and a new tax level, with the aim of “doing more fiscal and tax justice”.

“But we will take care of the quality of spending. This I have insisted on, so that not only do we pay attention to the total expenses, the so-called Spending Ceiling, but just as important as the total expenses, is the quality of this cat”, he added, noting that no measure will be “made startled”.

Earlier, he also observed that “even with the approval of the PEC [do Estouro]we have a budget that has been underestimated, that is, there is a large budget deficit”.

ministerial meeting

Regarding the ministerial meeting scheduled by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) for this Friday (6), Costa said that “it is not a brake on housekeeping”.

“It’s not a tidying up brake, it’s not a scolding, or ear pulling, it’s the first meeting”, he highlighted.

He explained that Lula’s work strategies and scripts will be presented at the meeting. “It will present what his expectations are, how he wants it to work, the flows, the priorities, reinforcing the understanding of teamwork, collective work”, he pointed out.

Regarding joint work, the minister noted that “it’s no use having many stars if each one wants to appear individually and doesn’t want to play for the team”.

Also according to the PT, next week, the Civil House should start visiting other ministries to define priorities, such as Minha Casa Minha Vida, investments in public health and education — with emphasis on full-time schools.

He also revealed that they are working on two trips by President Lula to Brazilian states in January, “to effectively make deliveries and announcements”.

Construction

This Thursday (5), the Federal Audit Court (TCU) revealed that the current government takes over Brazil with 8,600 works stopped. When Jair Bolsonaro (PL) became president, there were 14,000.

About this, Rui Costa said that the federal administration does not know, exactly, the number of paralyzed works.

Thus, he announced that a registration will be made for Brazilian municipalities to inform how many paralyzed works they have, also providing an estimate of completion and other details.