President to meet with governors for support

In a move to seek support for the government's agenda and for upcoming votes in Congress, President Dilma Rousseff will meet with state governors on Thursday afternoon (July 30) in Brasília for the first time nearly seven months into her second term in office.

A key issue in the meeting is a reform on the Tax on Sales and Services (ICMS), Brazil's value-added tax collected on a state-level basis, which will be voted by the Senate soon. Rousseff wants to talk about her proposed measures and hear the governors' demands on the issue. She is considering trade-offs to compensate states where the shift from the state-defined ICMS rates to the single national rate turns out to be disadvantageous.

The president will also discuss social policies of the federal government and the recovery of investment levels in the country after the fiscal adjustment. Moreover, she will try to persuade the governors to rally Congress support for votes of interest to the government.

According to Vice-President Michel Temer, the governors will be “good allies of the interests of the Federation and of the states individually.” He said Rousseff will tell the governors that measures that are detrimental to the federal interests, including declines in tax revenue, are also detrimental to the states.

Besides Temer, Joaquim Levy (Minister of Finance), Aloizio Mercadante (Chief of Staff) and Nelson Barbosa (Minister of Planning, Budget and Management) are attending the meeting.

Translated by Mayra Borges