Serra calls for lower interest rates and tax cuts

Speaking as a presidential candidate, after being nominated at the PSDB convention on Saturday, Jose Serra, the former governor of São Paulo, declared that if elected he would increase government spending, lower interest rates and reduce taxes so as to give Brazilians a better life.

“Brazil is an international record-holder in three unfortunate areas, that run counter to our needs and contrary to our hopes. Brazil has one of the world’s lowest levels of government spending, the highest real interest rate in the world and the heaviest tax load.”

Without revealing details of his economic plans, Serra did say he intends to turn the country into a huge construction site, similar to what he did in São Paulo.

As expected. Serra did not announce his vice president. There are a number of possibilities, the most prominent is the former governor of Minas Gerais, Aecio Neves. But Neves seems more intent on a safe seat in the Senate rather than facing a possible defeat on the Serra ticket.

In his acceptance speech, Serra, criticized the Lula administration. One thing he attacked Lula for was the president’s censorious treatment of government watchdog offices and officials, specifically the “Tribunal de Contas da União – TCU” (a kind of GAO), which halted a number of Lula projects because of financial irregularities.

Serra also assailed the Lula administration for “politically subdividing” the government with political appointees. Serra said the number of positions occupied by party cronies, even in regulatory agencies, was unacceptable.