Goal: government studies how to reduce Haddad’s wear and tear – 11/02/2023 – Market

Allies of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) launched an operation to preserve the image of the head of the economic team, after the president said that “it would be difficult” for the country to eliminate the deficit next year — paving the way to bury one of the main objectives of Minister Fernando Haddad (Finance).

While the Civil House is considering sending a message to Congress to implement the change, a wing of the government is looking for a less stressful solution for the minister to review the zero deficit target proposed for 2024,

The head of the Civil House, Rui Costa, has expressed support for forwarding the amending message, according to Lula’s allies, under the argument that it is up to the president to conduct economic policy.

Another justification in favor of sending the message would be to prevent Congress from increasing the target too much, if the government chooses to modify it during the processing of the LDO proposal (Budget Guidelines Law) — the text that defines the target.

On Wednesday (1), Costa consulted the PLDO rapporteur, Danilo Forte (União-CE), about the deadline for forwarding the message, which is the day of voting on the preliminary report in the Budget Committee. The vote is expected to take place next week.

At the meeting, which was attended by Simone Tebet (Planning) and Alexandre Padilha (Institutional Relations), Haddad was represented by the executive secretary of Finance, Dario Durigan.

It will be up to Lula to define when and how to propose a review of the target, if that is his decision. The president is expected to convene the team in the coming days. The alternative strategy under analysis would involve a change in the target by Congress itself.

In an attempt to dispel Haddad’s idea of ​​isolation, President Lula’s allies began to publicly defend the zero deficit target set for 2024.

The Minister of Institutional Relations, Alexandre Padilha, for example, has defended parliamentarians to maintain the zero deficit target until Congress approves measures that would guarantee the expansion of revenue next year. Only then would the goal be reevaluated.

He has said to allies that it is important to defend the Brazilian economy and, together, Haddad. Despite this, Padilha does not rule out, in his conversations, the possibility of sending a modifying message to Congress, if this is the president’s wish.

The leader of the government in the Senate, Jaques Wagner (BA), went so far as to state that there would be zero chance of the government sending to Congress the amending message that would allow the deficit target presented by Haddad to be revised.

In the Senate plenary, Wagner said that the eight years of Lula’s government have already demonstrated the president’s fiscal responsibility, stating that the target will be maintained.

As anticipated by Sheetmembers of the government began to discuss sending a message to the National Congress with the review of the goal of bringing the public account deficit to zero in 2024, after Lula declared that the country will “hardly” achieve this promise next year.

Defender of maintaining the goal, Haddad had already admitted the risk of defeat in the arm wrestling waged within the government, according to palace sources.

Lula received leaders of allied parties for a meeting on Tuesday (31) at Palácio do Planalto to discuss the economic agenda.

To the participants, the president stated that there will be no contingency on expenses foreseen in next year’s Budget. He ruled out the possibility of cuts in social investments.

According to allies of Simone Tebet (Planning), the minister would have preferred the target to have been revised earlier.