MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Guedes underlines Brazil's economic recovery

Guedes insisted the IMF has revised, from 1.7% to 2.8%, the forecast for GDP growth this year

Brazil's Economy Minister Paulo Guedes told a group of worldwide dignitaries in Washington DC about the South American nation's economic recovery:

“I bring good news from Brazil. We are resuming sustainable growth, our own growth dynamics. Growth estimates have been revised upwards all the time,” Guedes told representatives of the G20 while participating in the Annual General Meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank.

According to Guedes, Brazil's Gross Domestic Product (GDP, the sum of goods and services produced) should grow by 3% in 2022 and maintain this pace for a long period. For him, the fact that the IMF has revised, from 1.7% to 2.8%, the forecast for GDP growth this year serves as proof of the good moment that the Brazilian economy is going through.

The minister also highlighted that federal public spending fell from 26% to 18.7% of GDP in the last two years, and the unemployment rate fell from 14.9% to 8.9% in the same period. Guedes recalled that the gross public debt is around 77% of the GDP, thus matching pre-pandemic levels.

For Guedes, Brazil had agility in facing the COVID-19 crisis, with the introduction of emergency aid and help to states and municipalities, which helped the country be growing today. Another assertive measure was the Brazilian Central Bank (BCB) raising interest rates before most of the world to fight inflation.

Brazil's US$ 200 billion in investments for the next 10 years was only possible because of the reforms made in sectors such as infrastructure and energy. Guedes also stressed that the country was headed for the best international practices, as a part of the process of joining the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

Guedes also recalled that the OECD has environmental preservation guidelines and that Brazil has the potential to develop an expressive green economy market. “Brazil strongly supports the discussions at the OECD, including for carbon mitigation approaches,” he stated.

The minister pointed out that Brazil has competitive advantages regarding the environment such as strict legislation and clean energy production capacity, and was one of the main global producers of food, due to which it plays a relevant role in providing food security for the planet.

(Source: Agencia Brasil)