RIO DE JANEIRO, Dec. 22 (Xinhua) — Brazil’s parliament on Thursday approved the overall budget for 2023, the first year of President-elect Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s new term, with a significant increase in public spending.
Federal lawmakers and senators in a joint session this Thursday approved the 2023 budget, which includes government spending of 5.340 billion reais ($1.1 billion), of which 40 percent is for commitments and debt maturities.
The Brazilian budget for 2023 also sees the monthly payment of 600 reais (about 110 dollars) for the Bolsa Família program to support the poorest, for social investments such as the popular pharmacy and school snack programs and investments in infrastructure, mainly in transport, before and social housing.
A total of 130,600 million reais ($25,115 million) will be allocated to education and 173,100 million reais ($33,300 million) to health.
An increase in the minimum wage by almost 10 percent to 1,230 reais (around 230 dollars) is also being considered.
According to the budget, the Brazilian economy is expected to grow by 2.5 percent in 2023 and inflation will be 4.5 percent, while the base interest rate will average 12.4 percent.
“We have fulfilled our duty as parliamentarians, as representatives of the people, to do what is in our power to provide the country with an affordable, adequate budget that can keep our country going. The budget item presented here was absolutely unenforceable,” he explained to budget rapporteur Marcelo Castro.