BRASILIA (Reuters) – Brazil has scope to further improve public accounts but should not make it its sole focus, Finance Minister Fernando Haddad said on Tuesday, emphasizing that economic growth is essential for any fiscal adjustment.
Speaking at an event hosted by lender BTG Pactual, he said the government would resume its reform agenda and that there are many “good proposals” to be voted on by Congress.
“My assessment remains the same: we have conditions to keep improving public accounts, but we should not focus solely on that,” he said.
According to Haddad, government-planned changes to allow formal workers access to lower interest rates on payroll-deductible loans would represent a “revolution.”
He also urged Congress to approve a proposal already under discussion that would allow the use of payment flows via the country’s traditional instant payment system, Pix, as collateral for lower-interest loans.
The minister added that if public revenue reaches around 19% of gross domestic product (GDP) and spending stands at 18% of GDP, “I believe we will have a sustainability horizon that will give strength to microeconomic reforms.”
(Reporting by Marcela Ayres; Editing by Gabriel Araujo)
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