Bolsonaro sends video to Mercosur meeting and says government ‘prioritizes low-income families’

The President highlighted the difficult times the global economy is going through and stressed that he is working to combat the causes of high fuel prices

Isac Nóbrega / PR – 07/06/2022President Jair Bolsonaro participates in the meeting with recorded testimony.

President Jair Bolsonaro He has been informed that he will not be able to attend the first meeting of the leaders Mercosur, after the epidemic. The meeting was held on Thursday, 21st, in Asuncion, the capital of Paraguay. It was the sixtieth ordinary meeting of the Summit of Heads of Member State. Among other issues, a change in council leadership was on the agenda. Paraguay left the interim presidency of the bloc and Uruguay took charge. Bolsonaro was expected to participate by video, but preferred to send a videotaped testimony, citing “difficult” times for the economy and stressing that his government prioritizes “low-income families”.

“The world is going through a challenging time, forcing us to step up our efforts to ensure jobs, purchasing power and quality of life for our citizens. We have worked to provide fertilizer for our agriculture, which is essential for food security in a part of the world. We are also working internally to address the causes of high fuel and energy prices.

Bolsonaro talked about PEC of goodApproved this month: a package of diversified social assistance that will cost the government R$41 billion by the end of the year. He highlighted Auxílio Brasil, which increased by R$200 for six months, representing a monthly benefit of R$600 for registered families. He then spoke about the government’s priorities: “Low-income families remain the focus of our business. Since the beginning of the pandemic, we have had workers to ensure that food is provided.”

During the meeting, the leaders decided, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, to reduce the common foreign tariff rates by 10%. Brazil has already taken this measure in isolation. “Today’s world needs more trade and investment, which is why we are working towards the approval of the modern agreement with Singapore,” Bolsonaro said. “We need to continue expanding our investments in Latin America and the Caribbean to strengthen regional value chains.” This year, trade between Brazil and Mercosur member countries reached R$10 billion in exports and R$9 billion in imports. According to the federal government, most (90%) are products from the manufacturing industry, including exports from the automotive, machinery and equipment sectors.