Lula’s program sees price stability as a ‘priority task’ and opposes privatization

The guidelines of the government program of former president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT), released this Tuesday (21), point to the resumption of employment and price stability as “priority tasks” and affirm that an eventual PT administration opposes “strongly” the privatization of Petrobras, Pré-Sal Petróleo, Eletrobras and Correios.

Launched at an event in São Paulo with the presence of the former president and his candidate for vice, the former governor of São Paulo Geraldo Alckmin (PSB), the guidelines also echo recent public statements made by Lula in defending the repeal of the spending ceiling and the construction of “a new fiscal regime, which has credibility, predictability and sustainability”.

The document, launched in the presence of presidents and representatives of the seven parties that support Lula’s candidacy, also defends a “transition” from the current fuel price policy practiced by Petrobras towards one “that considers national costs and that be adequate to the expansion of investments in refining and distribution and to the reduction of the high price”.

“This document is not an arrival, it is a starting point and has to be understood as a starting point”, said at the event the president of the Perseu Abramo Foundation, linked to the PT, Aloizio Mercadante.

In addition to disclosing the guidelines, an online platform was launched where anyone can make suggestions for the final version of Lula’s government program. According to Mercadante, it will be necessary to register to make suggestions and the platform will have a moderation, and proposals that do not dialogue with the guidelines will not be accepted. He said that the platform had already become the target of attacks by supporters of President Jair Bolsonaro (PL).

The program’s guidelines for a possible PT administration also defend “a new labor legislation of extensive social protection for all forms of occupation, employment and employment relationship” and the repeal of what it calls “regressive milestones of the current labor legislation, aggravated by the last reform”.

The guidelines also state that exchange rate policy should be a tool in combating rising prices.

“Reducing the volatility of the Brazilian currency through exchange rate policy is also a way of mitigating the inflationary impacts of changes in the external scenario. The passive orientation towards exchange rate policy in recent years has accentuated the volatility of the Brazilian currency against the dollar with perverse consequences for the price index”, states the document.

Speaking at the guidelines launch event, Lula stated that all the points set out in the document are possible to be executed and, remembering that he governed the country for eight years and that Alckmin was governor of São Paulo for several terms, he said that both were not they will need time to learn to govern.

“We are in the process of rebuilding the country. If we are talking about reconstruction, we need to compare this guideline that Aloizio Mercadante presented to us here with the construction of a house. And everyone knows here that a house starts with a good foundation”, said Lula.

“This is just a foundation, we’re going to have to build the house over time, listening to people through the platform, but the most important thing is to execute the policy that we do if we win the elections,” he added.

Alckmin, when speaking and praising the coordination that led to a consensual document for the seven parties that support Lula —PT, PCdoB, PV, PSB, Rede, PSOL and Solidarity—, took the opportunity to snipe Bolsonaro.

“You don’t do a democratic government program on motorcycles or jet skis”, said Alckmin, adding that the current government has promoted “a real dismantling of the State in all areas”.

Lula handily leads the polls for voting intentions for the October election, ahead of Bolsonaro. Some surveys point to the possibility of victory for the PT in the first round, market for October 2.