Bolsonaro blames external and internal restrictions for inflation at Mercosur meeting

President Jair Bolsonaro (PL) cited this Friday (17) “inflationary pressures” and said that it is necessary to protect the consumption capacity, especially of the poorest.

The statements were made at the virtual meeting of the Mercosur presidents’ summit, which marked the end of Brazil’s administration in command of the entity’s shift.

“Inflationary pressures resurface as a result of international restrictions and restrictive domestic measures resulting from the pandemic and the scarcity of supply in the world economy,” Bolsonaro said.

“Fighting inflation has involved several tools of economic policy. We need to protect the consumption capacity, especially of the lower-income sectors, the most affected by the pandemic,” the president also declared.

The official inflation, measured by the IPCA (Extended National Consumer Price Index), reached the mark of 10.74% in the accumulated of 12 months until November, informed in the last 10th the IBGE (Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics).

This means that the IPCA in the Jair Bolsonaro (PL) government surpassed the rise in prices registered during the Dilma Rousseff (PT) administration. In the PT’s second term, inflation also soared in Brazil, reaching 10.71% in 12 months until January 2016.

Report from leaf showed that, throughout the 21st century, Brazil has three periods —between 2002 and 2003, 2015 and 2016 and now in 2021— of stronger inflation, with double-digit highs in the accumulated 12-month period.

Bolsonaro has been blaming restrictions adopted by government officials against Covid-19, such as quarantines and closing trade, for the rise in prices. The same speech was repeated at this Friday’s meeting.

At the Mercosur event, Bolsonaro highlighted that he reduced import tariffs. He also said that efforts must be maintained to lower the bloc’s common external tariff. “We regret that we were unable to reach an agreement on this issue,” said the president.

Bolsonaro and the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Carlos França, highlighted debates on the production of pharmaceuticals in the region as a way to avoid external dependence.

The president said that Mercosur should be “an instrument for promoting prosperity and freedom”. He also stated that the bloc is working to “advance towards the signing” of the agreement with the European Union, which has been signed since 2019.

The Brazilian government transformed the face-to-face meeting of the Mercosur presidents’ summit, which would take place in Brazil this Friday (17), into a virtual meeting. According to Itamaraty’s interlocutors, the reason would be the advancement of the new omicron variant.

In March of this year, when Argentina temporarily presided over the bloc, the country also transformed a meeting to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the launch of Mercosur into a virtual one. The reason was the health situation in the countries of the region.