The executive secretary of the Ministry of Finance, Dario Durigan, said this Monday (2) that the way in which the fiscal package was discussed, finalized and announced by the government ensured unity around the measures and highlighted the strength of minister Fernando Haddad and of the economic team.
“Minister Haddad, and our Finance team, have never been so strong, that is my perception,” said Durigan at an XP bank event. “So much so that what the president (Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva) wanted to do when he called the ministers to the table was to protect Haddad.”
Durigan’s comments come after the government announced last week a set of measures to contain expenses, accompanied by a proposal to increase the Income Tax exemption range, even after Haddad had doubted the topic’s progress this year. .
The package, announced after weeks of anticipation, came with the promise of savings of R$327 billion over six years, but it still frustrated the market and raised concerns about a possible political weakening of Haddad.
Durigan reiterated that the IR reform will only be discussed in 2025 and that it is “non-negotiable” that the expansion of the exemption range be conditioned on compensation measures.
The secretary also argued that the prolonged prior discussion around the measures at the Esplanada guaranteed unity and legitimacy to the cost-cutting initiatives, which will save time in the discussion and approval process in Congress.
He reinforced that the priority is to approve spending containment measures this year and added that the conversations are already very “oiled” in Congress.
Durigan also highlighted the initiative to impose a 2.5% ceiling on the real adjustment of the minimum wage as a “greater gesture” by President Lula, as the measure limits the policy of increasing the minimum wage according to the pace of GDP growth. , which is in force today. Durigan said that it was “very difficult” to show Lula that the initiative would be worthwhile and that he himself did not expect the change to be successful.
“The president made the decision because he understood that it is worth removing the value of the minimum wage for a stronger economy, for an economy with less inflation, for an economy with expenses within the framework band,” said Durigan.
“He understood this, with the Minister of Labor on his side,” said Durigan, in reference to Minister Luiz Marinho, who even threatened to resign if measures related to his portfolio were proposed without him being consulted.
