Simone Tebet and Elena Landau: Social and economic reconstruction will only be possible with an affective reconstruction

Economic policy does not operate in a vacuum: context matters. The circumstances of national life in 2022 are dramatic. A government program normally talks about fiscal rules and reforms, but in our plan, any and all actions in these segments will have social transformation as the ultimate goal. The sale of state-owned companies will be to put children and young people in schools.

We joined this campaign because, as mothers, we can no longer watch other mothers not have something to offer their children at the end of the day or a roof over their heads. There is something very wrong with an economy that has a line for ordering private jets and a line for a plate of food. We want a fair, inclusive and plural society, in which there is equal opportunity for all.

There is, today, an apparent consensus in the diagnosis of the crisis, but it hides a huge divergence in the solutions. Some bring fiscal adjustment as an objective in itself. Others bet on the repetition of state interventionism, which generates inflation and unemployment. It is soulless fiscalism on the one hand and populism on the other. Social tragedy and economic stagnation result from these mistakes. And yet, Bolsonaro and Lula continue to speak on behalf of the people as if they owned them.

Commitment to fiscal responsibility is in our DNA. We work for the Social Security reform, for the constitutional spending cap, for the labor reform, for the new High School, for the new Sanitation Marco and for the new Fundeb. We have experience, both in the Executive and the Legislative.

The conciliatory spirit and ability to articulate with the National Congress will bring security to investors, with the consequent appreciation of our currency, drop in interest rates and inflation, and sustainable development. Presidency is not a function to start a political trajectory.

The current Budget has been imprisoned by parochial interests. It needs to be resumed to serve society, in a transparent and planned way, for the entire term. Commitments to science, technology, innovation, affordable housing, culture, the environment, in addition to health and education, must be guaranteed.

Today, income transfer policies are defined last. After subsidies, special income tax regimes and corporate salaries. Let’s reverse priorities. The other expenses will have to be adjusted. An example: for years, Bolsa Família cost around 0.5% of GDP, while tax exemptions, defined through lobbies, grew without stopping, reaching 4% of GDP.

A review of expenditures, with evaluation of public policies, will find more resources. This will be combined with tax simplification, to give efficiency gains, and with Income Tax reform, to eliminate injustices.

To overcome the technological backwardness, Brazil will open up to the world, repeating the successful experience of agribusiness. International integration will be the foundation of the industry of the future. It is possible, with this, to increase productivity and generate jobs. And a 180º turn in the environmental area will be given. The ESG agenda, whose acronym stands for good environmental, social and corporate governance, will integrate the government.

Our program will be a collective construction. The pandemic has highlighted the importance of the voice of communities. Social responses emerged from local contexts and solutions adapted to their particularities. It was a necessity in the face of the State’s failure to provide services over the last two decades. This state absence has deepened social, gender and racial inequalities, and urgent solutions are required. The Bolsonaro government’s criminal omission in the pandemic made everything even more cruel.

Democratic freedom is the north of our action. The culture has been undermined: totalitarian governments do not like citizens who reflect, who question and doubt. The debates were dominated by hatred. It is not by chance that cases of barbarism, police violence, femicide, racial crimes and the apology for Nazism are on the rise.

The conciliation of the country and the harmony between the Three Powers will be fundamental to implement these changes with the necessary speed.

There is a path of hope. The country needs a social and economic reconstruction, which will only be possible with an affective reconstruction.

Series brings economic thinking from pre-candidates to the presidency. The Mercado section publishes articles on economic issues considered sensitive by pre-candidates for the Presidency of the Republic. The proposal is to start the debate of themes that should guide a good part of the campaign. The articles are mostly signed by economists who participate in the support group for pre-candidates.

According to his advice, Senator Rodrigo Pacheco (PSD-MG) is initiating conversations with economic consultants and still does not have a spokesperson in the area. Invited to represent President Jair Bolsonaro, who will run for reelection, Economy Minister Paulo Guedes prefers not to speak at the moment.