President Lula Offers Optimistic View Of Economy

Brazilian President Luiz Inácio "Lula" da Silva has told ministers of his administration that he is confident that Brazil's economy will grow "more than pessimists thinks," adding that he is particularly optimistic about a proposal for public-private partnerships.

• Lula's comments via Reuters: "I believe our economy will grow more than pessimists think."
• "Next Monday, as we assess first 100 days of government, we will announce future moves... I'm very optimistic with public-private partnership proposals we will bring into discussion."
• According to Reuters, Lula also told ministers that he believes Congress will pass his fiscal reform framework and tax reform.
• Lula's PPI deputy secretary Manoel Renato Machado Filho told BNamericas on Friday that the programme will likely target social development: "...our priority continues to be [supporting with the structuring of] concessions, PPPs and even certain privatizations."
• "But currently, the emphasis is more on social policies and for that reason we’re going to look for models to make better use of PPPs in sectors that still need a lot of development and that have a big social impact, which are the areas of health and education."