“It is not the role of the State to serve mega-entrepreneurs”, says Lula

President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) once again criticized businesspeople when he participated in the inauguration of the Olympic Educational Gymnasium and Federal Institute of the Olympic Park, in Rio de Janeiro, this Wednesday (7).

During his speech at the event, Lula said that it is not the role of the State to “serve the mega businessmen” who go to the Presidency of the Republic “to ask for billions and billions of reais”. According to the PT member, “rich people like to say that they owe money”, in addition to finding it “charming” to say that they got “R$5 billion from BNDES, long-term interest, 5 years grace period and I will pay it off in 15 years”.

“There are people who don’t need the State, but there are many people who do, and it is for these people that the State needs to exist. The State has an obligation to guarantee opportunities for all people to succeed in life. This is the role of the State. It’s not about serving the mega-businessmen who, every time they go to the Presidency, just want to ask for billions and billions”, said the PT member.

This was not the first time that Lula criticized businesspeople. He collects some very controversial statements such as this one made in January 2023: “entrepreneurs don’t earn a lot of money because they worked; he makes a lot of money because his workers worked.”

The PT member has also said that Brazil cannot be “subordinated to the smallness” of those who advocate that the government maintain payroll tax relief for 17 sectors of the economy.