Brazil’s Finance Minister Dario Durigan said fiscal measures would be announced this year, with details likely to follow President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s return from Turkey, where Lula is attending COP 31. Durigan spoke after a meeting between Lula and a group of economists at the Palácio da Alvorada, called amid discussions on new fiscal adjustment steps.
“This year is a long time; in the coming days the president will be focused on preparing COP 31,” Durigan said. “We will keep debating and presenting proposals, but when the president returns from his trip, we should have more information.”
Debt keeps climbing
The meeting came a day after the Central Bank kept the Selic policy rate unchanged at 13.75 percent per year. Gross general government debt stood at 82.9 percent of GDP in September, equivalent to 11.1 trillion reais, up 11.2 percentage points from 71.7 percent of GDP in December 2022.
The 2027 budget guidelines law foresees a primary surplus target of 0.5 percent of GDP. The government is weighing steps to expand its contingency capacity and to aim the primary result at the centre of its target rather than the lower bound.
Consultation, not a plan yet
Lula called Thursday’s meeting at short notice, and it was not on his official agenda. It marked the first round of a wider consultation on economic conditions. Central Bank Governor Gabriel Galípolo was not invited, due to the Copom silence period that precedes monetary policy decisions.
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Lula recorded a broadcast address for Sunday that is expected to focus on the trajectory of public debt and on political pacification, without announcing specific measures.
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