Lula says that the announcement of the fiscal rule will be for April – 03/21/2023 – Market

President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) indicated this Tuesday (21) that the government will not be in a hurry to present the new fiscal rules, which should be made public after the return of the presidential trip to China, from 26 to 31 March.

Lula stated that the package cannot be announced and then he and Minister Fernando Haddad go on a trip, without providing the necessary explanations. However, he stressed that the proposal is already “mature”.

“We have to discuss a little more. We don’t have to be in a hurry that some people in the financial sector want”, said the president, in an interview with the Brasil 247 portal.

“We board on Saturday. Haddad cannot communicate something and leave. You see? It would be strange. I announce and leave. Haddad has to announce and stay here to debate, to answer, to give an interview, to talk to the financial system , with the Chamber of Deputies, with the Senate, with other ministers, with businessmen”, he added.

The president’s statement comes amid the prospect of announcing the new fiscal rule, a set of rules that aims to replace the spending cap. The general guidelines were presented by Minister Fernando Haddad (Finance) to the president on Friday (17).

The issue is also being discussed this Tuesday morning (21) within the scope of the JEO (Budget Execution Board), formed by ministers Haddad, Simone Tebet (Planning and Budget), Rui Costa (Civil House) and Esther Dweck (Management and Innovation in Public Services).

The JEO meeting was convened to validate the first evaluation report of the Lula administration’s Budget, which needs to be delivered on Tuesday (21). But there is an expectation that the meeting will also serve to continue the debate on the new fiscal framework, which will replace the spending ceiling — a rule that limits expenditure growth to inflation variation.

Lula’s intention is to announce the proposal next week, before his trip to China, scheduled for March 25th.

In an attempt to avoid leaks, the Minister of Finance has restricted access to the project. In the folder itself, only some of its main secretaries participate in the negotiations. The aim is to convince Lula of the importance and terms of the proposal before it is targeted by criticism.

Members of the government claim in a reserved manner that Haddad intends to keep the proposal confidential to avoid the risk of attrition, since Lula must request changes if he considers the proposal too rigorous.