Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff jumped to the defense of her embattled finance minister saying she would not be pressured into sacking him. Rousseff, fighting to save her second term presidency from threatened impeachment proceedings, said she was ignoring suggestions by the head of her own Workers' Party (PT) that Joaquim Levy should be dismissed.
Brazil's former central bank chief Henrique Meirelles said on Wednesday he was not invited to take over the finance ministry and insisted the government needs to push ahead with unpopular austerity measures to pull the economy out of recession.
Brazil's industrial output fell for a fourth straight month in September as automakers, metal producers and other manufacturers were hit by a worsening recession, government data showed on Wednesday. This follows the Brazilian central bank's announcement on Tuesday that the economy in 2015 would shrink over 3% with inflation almost at 10%.
Former Brazilian president Lula da Silva urged the ruling Workers' Party to back fiscal austerity measures in Congress, endorsing the efforts of Finance Minister Joaquim Levy to plug a gaping deficit. Members of Lula's party have opposed moves by Lula's protégée, President Dilma Rousseff, to cut public spending and social benefits as she strives to balance overdrawn accounts and restore investor confidence in Brazil.
The United Kingdom and Brazil reaffirmed on Friday their support for the success of the European Union/Mercosur Association agreement negotiations in the framework of the eighth meeting of the UK-Brazil Joint Economic and Trade Committee (JETCO) which emphasizes bilateral cooperation and initiatives.
Describing Brazil as a valued partner of Britain, and champion on climate change and tackling deforestation, Minister of State for Latin America, Hugo Swire, attended on Wednesday the Amazon Day 2015 at the Brazilian embassy where he also met with ministers Texeira, Levy and Coutinho who are in London for the first UK-Brazil economic and financial dialogue round.
Finance Minister Joaquim Levy has not resigned and will stay in his post, Brazil's government said on Friday, denying a media report that he planned to step down in a dispute over austerity measures. A finance ministry spokeswoman told reporters that Levy continues to work and is committed to improve the country's future.
Brazil opposition lawmakers will push for impeachment proceedings to begin next week against embattled President Dilma Rousseff, local media reported Friday. It comes after the country’s top audit court, the TCU, ruled that the government’s 2014 accounts had been manipulated in the run-up to last year’s presidential elections to give a better impression of the economy and sustain spending on social programs.
Brazil largest party, main ally and pillar of President Dilma Rousseff's fragile coalition said it was “110% satisfied” with the changes announced on Friday: reducing cabinet posts from 39 to 31, slashing thousands of coveted jobs for political appointees and cutting her salary and that of the vice president by 10%.
Brazil's government announced on Monday spending cuts and tax increases totaling 65 billion Reais ($16.9 billion) as it races to close a budget deficit that led to a downgrade of the country's credit rating last week.