MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Lula to create Ministry of SMEs, if elected

Public banks should focus on SMEs and not think like private companies, Lula stressed

Former Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) Wednesday vowed to create a Ministry for Small and Medium Enterprises if he wins the October elections and returns to the Planalto Palace.

The Workers' Party leader made the announcement during an engagement in São Paulo. He also pledged to reinstate some of the old ministries that used to exist during his previous administrations, including those of Indigenous Peoples and Tourism

“We cannot let you die because of debt incurred during the pandemic,” said Lula while defending the role of state-run banks during the coronavirus pandemic.

“We don't want the public banks to have any losses, but we don't want them to want to have the same profits as private banks. They have to perform a social function in this country,” he stressed.

In an event with businessmen supporting his candidacy, Lula also pointed out that it was necessary to “frame” the Banco do Brasil so that it behaves like a “public bank.” The former head of state also insisted that the National Economic and Social Development Bank (Banco Nacional de Desenvolvimento Econômico e Social - BNDES) should stop lending to large companies and focus on SMEs.

“The Banco do Brasil looks nice if it has government guidance. If it doesn't have guidance, the bureaucracy of the Banco do Brasil thinks like a private bank. It is necessary that we frame the Banco do Brasil ... ,” Lula went on.

“We are going to run to make public banks become public banks,” he added.

According to a survey released by Genial/Quaest Wednesday, Lula has 45% of voter preference, while the incumbent Jair Bolsonaro (PL) appears with 33%. In third place comes Ciro Gomes (PDT), with 6% of the respondents' support, followed by Simone Tebet (MDB), with 3%.

Six percent of respondents had not yet made up their minds and another 6% would vote for no candidate at all, the study showed.