More Brazilians Move Up To
Middle-Class: Minister
BRASILIA - Brazilian Finance Minister Guido
Mantega said on Wednesday that the country's
economic growth in recent years has turned
more people to the middle-class.
In a meeting with union leaders, Mantega
said the Brazilian economy could grow 5.5 to
6 percent without macroeconomic imbalances
or bubbles.
There has been a real increase in the
minimum wage and reduction in inequalities
during the two terms of President Luiz
Inacio Lula da Silva, a former union leader.
This, in turn, has allowed more people to
move up to the middle class, which currently
accounts for over 50 percent of the
country's population, Mantega said.
"When we started the government, the minimum
wage was enough to buy just a basic basket.
Now it is possible to buy nearly two. The
purchasing power of the minimum wage has
almost doubled, which is a fundamental
change in terms of reducing poverty and
expanding the consumer market," he said.
While many other economies experienced a
contraction in consumption last year due to
the impact of the international financial
crisis, Brazil witnessed strong consumption,
which benefited trade and and production, he
added.
The finance minister said he expected the
Brazilian consumption to grow 8 to 8.5
percent, allowing employers to invest more. |
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