Lula da Silva announces plan for public works in Brazil if he returns to power

Former Brazilian president (2003-2010) and presidential candidate Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT, left) said yesterday that if he is elected next October, he will implement an infrastructure plan of public works projects to boost economic growth and that the state can act as a stimulus for private investment.

“The state will have to make large investments in public works, and the state will have to prompt these investments to motivate private initiative with credibility and predictability,” Lula da Silva said at a press conference with foreign correspondents in São Paulo.

The leader of the Workers’ Party, who is ahead of President Jair Bolsonaro in the presidential election polls, said it will be necessary to lower interest rates and inflation to “reasonable” levels to launch employment policies in Brazil, Latin America’s leading economy.

The former president said he disagrees with the Brazilian Central Bank’s decision to increase the key interest rate (currently 13.75 percent per year), believing that the current inflation is due to supply and not demand.

“The interest rate is raised against inflation, but that makes sense if it is demand-side inflation, not if there is no demand-side inflation. There is currently no need to raise the interest rate to lower inflation,” he said.

Lula da Silva said that if he returns to the presidency on Jan. 1, 2023, his government must work to increase food production capacity to contain prices.

He also said he wants to increase social spending for the most vulnerable and hopes to attract foreign investors.

“The foreign investor will not come because of the color of the president’s eyes, but if the investment will yield profits, and for that we must provide a domestic market,” he said.