Lula fires shots at bankers and businesspeople and says they don’t need the State

President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) fired at Brazilian bankers and businesspeople on Wednesday night (3), in Brasília, saying that they do not need the State, but that they demand a primary surplus and public loans.

The speech was a continuation of the criticisms he made recently due to the reaction to the withholding of Petrobras’ extraordinary dividends.

“Bankers do not need the State, but they demand that the State run a primary surplus and make billions available to them. Big businesspeople shouldn’t need the State, but they do because they live by borrowing money from the State,” he said during a speech at the 12th National Conference on the Rights of Children and Adolescents.

The president also addressed the issue of taxation, highlighting that the richest pay less Income Tax, while the working class and middle class bear the majority of the country’s tax burden.

“Who needs the State? The working people, the lower middle class who pay 80% of Income Tax in this country. Because rich people also pay very little Income Tax, those who pay are those who work and receive a paycheck at the end of the month”, he added.

These statements come at a time when the government is discussing maintaining the primary surplus target of 0.5% of GDP in 2025. Planning Minister Simone Tebet stated that the review of this target is being considered, as well as most recently Minister Fernando Haddad, of Finance. For this year, the established goal is a zero deficit.