“We need to spend well, with the resources we have”, says Tebet

The Minister of Planning, Simone Tebet, emphasized this Saturday (4) that the government must focus on priority spending to fulfill the mission of including the poor in the budget, “since the blanket is short”.

“We need to spend well with the resources we have. The blanket is short, we cannot meet all demands. We need to meet priorities and put the poor in the budget”, said Tebet at an event by the Lide group in Portugal.

The minister mentioned that she thought twice before accepting the proposal to assume the Planning portfolio, due to political and economic divergences with the government of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, but she emphasized that the democratic front was strengthened and said that the minister da Fazenda, Fernando Haddad, proved to be a partner.

“To my surprise, I found a great partner in Haddad,” said Tebet, adding that one of the great challenges facing the economy is the high level of interest rates. “Brazil will not grow again with interest rates of 13.75% and we only have high interest rates because we did not do our homework in the last government”.

The minister mentioned the need to move forward with reforms, especially the tax one, so that the fiscal risk decreases and interest rates fall. Tebet also stated that she must think of achievable targets ahead of the Plan, including spending cuts, to reduce the deficit and provide a more favorable environment for the basic interest rate.

“We all know the gravity of the moment. And there won’t be 2026 if we don’t do our homework in 2023.”

In response to the Minister of the Federal Supreme Court (STF) Ricardo Lewandovski, who asked what she intends to do to include the poor in the budget, Tebet said that Brazil is committed to creating a good business environment.

“We are going to carry out the tax reform and the new fiscal framework that is being designed. And with that, we are going to signal that there is a safe environment for investments”.