Brazil’s President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said on Monday that the Brazilians will have an extraordinary year in 2010, during which the economy will grow in a sustainable way.
According to the president, quick growths will be registered in the sectors of agriculture, trade and industry due to a rise in credit and better financing conditions.
“We will keep on growing and Brazil will become a great economy,” said Lula on his weekly radio show “Breakfast with the President.”
President Lula also commented on the anti-crisis measures announced last week, which included several tax cuts to help boost the Brazilian economy and the release of 80 billion reais (45.9 billion U.S. dollars) for the country’s Development Bank (BNDES).
He stressed that the renewal of tax cuts was aimed at boosting consumption, and recalled that last December he called on the Brazilians to trust the country’s economy and keep consuming, which the population did, and that’s why Brazil’s economy is now in a more comfortable position.
Additionally, President Lula said that in 2010, the government will take other measures to boost the economy, such as allocating 15 billion reais (8.6 billion dollars) for the naval industry and reducing the taxes in the petrochemicals sector to facilitate the construction of new refineries.
“If necessary, we will give another 20 billion reais (11.4 billion U.S. dollars) to Petrobras”, the state-owned oil and gas giant to finance the exploration of pre-salt oil reserves, he added.