Joaquim Levy defends presidential vetoes

Finance minister Joaquim Levy rearffirmed today (Sep. 30) his support for the vetoes of President Dilma Rousseff to the proposals approved by deputies and senators that would represent a rise in spending.

Among the vetoed items that the government worries about the most is the one that adjusts from 53% to 78% the federal judge salaries, and the one that reviews all the benefits of the National Institute for Social Security (INSS) to the calculation basis of the minimum wage.

"We have to avoid spending at this moment, in order not to create more impact on taxes," declared the minister, after meeting with Congress President Renan Calheiros, who must put the vetoes to vote.

In support of the finance minister, the Senate's leader from the Brazilian Democratic Movement Party (PMDB), Eunício Oliveira, said that this vote is important to give a signal to the market, which, according to him, is very unstable, being impossible to predict what will happen. Oliveira argued that the country faces problems. In addition to the deficit of $7.55 billion, forecast in the 2016 budget proposal, Congress has an agenda to vote with proposals that mount to $37.76 billion—total amount of spending vetoed by the president and of the high dollar. "The dollar at this level is not only an economic issue, but a matter of insecurity", argued the leader.

Translated by Amarílis Anchieta

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