Lula asked that one more ministry be affected by the tax package, says Haddad

The Minister of Finance, Fernando Haddad, stated this Monday that President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva asked for another ministry to be included in the group that will be affected by the cost containment package discussed by the federal government.

“The president asked for an effort to include a ministry in this effort, with negotiations that should be completed by Wednesday,” said Haddad in an interview with journalists outside the Treasury.

“I’m not going to say anything further, because I don’t know if the ministry will have enough time to incorporate his request, but I believe there will be good will for us to incorporate an additional measure.”

According to him, the “details” that were still under discussion last week have already been resolved and the meetings with the other ministries have already been completed.

Asked whether, during the discussions, there was a dehydration of the measures, which were supposedly the target of resistance from members of the government, Haddad stated that the debate helped to refine the proposals.

“There were adjustments, there were improvements incorporated, yes, but, but I wouldn’t call it dehydration, on the contrary. I think it makes the measures more understandable, more palatable. We understand that it was a very beneficial process”, he stated.

Haddad also said that he will meet with Lula on Tuesday to discuss how the package will be forwarded to the presidents of the Chamber of Deputies, Arthur Lira (PP-AL), and the Senate, Rodrigo Pacheco (PSD-MG).

The minister did not set a date for the announcement, which is eagerly awaited by the financial markets, but stated that he believes it will be approved by the National Congress later this year.