Guedes defends cutting labor charges and promises to strengthen social programs

The Minister of Economy, Paulo Guedes, said this Monday (16) that the government will improve its social programs and expand investments in infrastructure. The minister also defended that labor charges be reduced.

In an event held by the Paulista Association of Supermarkets, Guedes said that the current government’s program will be further developed. According to him, the country already has a basic income program with the implementation of Auxílio Brasil, and now “we are going to improve the social programs, the social ascension ramp”.

The minister resumed the statement he used to make over the last few years, that labor charges are weapons of mass destruction of jobs. “We’re going to have to tackle that,” he said.

Regarding investments, Guedes defended the sale of government assets to feed a national reconstruction fund that would be used to finance public works.

According to the minister, the government intends to sell shares that are in the BNDES portfolio, such as Petrobras and JBS, to invest in infrastructure.

Without directly mentioning previous administrations or presidential candidates, Guedes also stated that “if they want to undo all the reforms that we are doing, they are the main mentors of the destruction of jobs”.

In the minister’s assessment, Brazil is being perceived by the United States and European countries as a port of attraction for investments.

“We were protagonists in the transition to the green economy, now we are a key element for food and energy security”, he said.

When mentioning the cuts made by the government in the rates of IPI (Tax on Industrialized Products) and Taxation, Guedes said he accepted the challenge of talking to the industry to defend that tax reductions reach the consumer. For him, the benefit of tax reductions has to be shared between companies and the population.