Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva once again declared that Minister of Finance, Antonio Palocci, will remain on the job. The declaration came Thursday, November 24, during an interview with Brazilian radio stations.
"Palocci is extremely important for Brazil at this moment, both politically and economically speaking. He was my choice for minister of Finance, and he continues to be my minister of Finance," said the president.
Lula went on to say that Palocci is a person who knows how to calculate his actions so that they transmit tranquility to the markets and investors.
"Palocci is a man with a level of competence that is above average for Brazilian ministers of Finance," said Lula.
One of the reasons for keeping Palocci at Finance is the way jobs are being created in Brazil, said Lula. He cited numbers showing that employment was at its best in 25 years.
Lula pointed out that after falling employment for over 20 years (1980 to 2002), a total of 3.6 million new jobs have been created in the last 35 months.
Lula pointed to the auto industry, which reduced its workforce by 1.5 million in the last 20 years, but has added 300,000 jobs since he took office in 2003.
Agência Brasil
