Brazil's Finance Minister Says Lula To Recalibrate Some Reforms Amid New Opposition

Mohammad Ali (@ChaudhryMAli88) Published January 19, 2023 | 10:48 PM

The January riots in Brazil showed that the opposition to President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva "will be made of extremists," so he will have to tread lightly on the pace of some reforms and political calculations, Brazilian Finance Minister Fernando Haddad said in an interview with the Financial Times published on Thursday

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 19th January, 2023) The January riots in Brazil showed that the opposition to President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva "will be made of extremists," so he will have to tread lightly on the pace of some reforms and political calculations, Brazilian Finance Minister Fernando Haddad said in an interview with the Financial Times published on Thursday.

On Wednesday, Haddad said at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos that the Brazilian government plans to carry out a tax reform and eliminate the state budget deficit within two years.

"What might happen is that the speed of the implementation of our program will need to be considered very carefully, especially at the beginning, so as to avoid being the target of fake news and rioting. We need to keep the country on a steady base, organized. But the political calculations will have to be much more careful than they would have been otherwise," Haddad said on the sidelines of the WEF.

The new Brazilian administration may decide to postpone some reforms, but civil unrest can contribute to the promotion of others, including a complete overhaul of the tax system, the newspaper said.

According to Haddad, Lula's new administration will need to build enough congressional support to enact changes, including those related to an increase in inheritance and wealth taxes.

"It is not easy to raise taxes on rich people because a lot of congressmen have wealth and income... We have to start to change the mindset of people first," the minister said.

Supporters of former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro stormed the National Congress building, as well as Palacio do Planalto, one of the official palaces of the Presidency, and the Supreme Court building in Brasilia on January 8. Police managed to regain control of the vandalized buildings on the same day. About 2,000 people were detained as a result of the riots, with 140 of them arrested.