MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Brazil will launch massive investment plan next August, two months ahead of election

Rousseff's announcement should help her with her re-election bid

Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff announced that the third stage of an investment plan, Growth Acceleration Program (PAC) will be launched in August, just two months ahead of an October presidential election in which she will seek re-election.

 With Brazilians worried about slowing growth and rising inflation in Latin America’s biggest economy, Rousseff is hoping that the new investment plan will help her re-election chances.

The second stage of the federal program was also released a few months before the 2010 presidential campaign, when she was elected under the slogan “mother of PAC.”

The PAC 2 was one of the largest federal government programs for infrastructure work in Brazil’s history.

Rousseff made the announcement during a radio interview in São José do Rio Preto last week after delivering 2,500 new housing units that are part of the program Minha Casa Minha Vida, (My home, my life), targeted to families earning less than 1,600 Reais (700 dollars) a month.

She said that railway work in the region would be included in the PAC 3 but didn’t say how much will be invested nationally as part of the new stage of the program A major investment influx could affect Brazil’s rising inflation as the country struggles to contain the problem.