The Chief Minister of the Civil House, Rui Costa, announced this Monday, 2, that the federal government will open lines of credit to assist companies affected by the rains that hit the cities of Juiz de Fora and Ubá, located in the Zona da Mata Mineira. According to Rui, the measure will follow the same model adopted to support businesspeople affected by the climate tragedy in Rio Grande do Sul, which occurred in 2024.
“We will publish the legal measures later this week so that we can open a line of credit financing under the same conditions for businesspeople in the two cities that we did for Rio Grande do Sul,” said Rui Costa at a press conference at Palácio do Planalto.
The minister did not reveal figures, but said that they will be “identical in terms of criteria and values” used in the state of Rio Grande do Sul. The amount, according to Rui, should be less than R$1 billion.
In the case of Rio Grande do Sul, the federal government authorized the provision of financing lines for companies that totaled R$15 billion from the Social Fund.
Rui Costa also announced that the government will adopt the assisted purchase model to help those who had their homes damaged. This week, Caixa Econômica will open a register for property owners to announce sales proposals that will be forwarded to residents registered by the federal government.
The Chief Minister of the Civil House also criticized the governor of Minas Gerais, Romeu Zema (Novo), for not presenting projects to prevent natural disasters, despite R$3.5 billion made available through the Growth Acceleration Program (PAC).
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“Unfortunately, Brazil has become this: those who do it and those who record videos. Those who record videos do not act against those who are doing it and are accused by those who record videos”, said Rui.
EU-Mercosur Agreement
Asked about the vote on the Trade Agreement between Mercosur and the European Union, which should be voted on in the Senate this week, Rui Costa declared that the government sees no obstacles to the approval of the measure and said that a decree will be published soon after the House’s approval.
“Our expectation is that it will be voted on and then we can publish the decree because, eventually, you may have to adjust the decree depending on any changes that occur in the vote. But I don’t see any surprises in this, I think Congress is committed to approving it”, said Rui Costa.
The minister also said that the conflict in the Middle East, triggered after a military attack coordinated by the United States and Israel that culminated in the death of Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, on Saturday, the 28th, should not culminate in an increase in inflation in Brazil. According to Rui, the government is monitoring the crisis in the region.
“It’s clear that the dollar has fallen substantially in recent months and I don’t think it will escape this falling pattern that it has behaved in up until now. But it’s clear that this is not good for the economy, it’s not good for people, it’s not good for anyone. War is never good for anyone, much less for the economy”, said Rui.
