Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva shows the draft legislative decree to accelerate the transfer of funds to the state of Rio Grande do Sul, at the Planalto Palace, in Brasilia, Brazil, on May 6, 2024. Lula da Silva sent on Monday a draft legislative decree to accelerate the transfer of funds to the state of Rio Grande do Sul (southern), which is suffering the worst floods in history with thousands of people displaced and homeless. (Xinhua/Lucio Tavora)
BRASILIA, May 6 (Xinhua) — The President of Brazil, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, sent this Monday a draft legislative decree to accelerate the transfer of funds to the state of Rio Grande do Sul (southern), which suffers the worst floods of history with thousands of displaced and homeless people.
The draft decree signed and sent by the Brazilian president, which will have to be approved by the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate, recognizes “the occurrence of a state of public calamity in part of the national territory, to face the consequences of climatic phenomena in the state of Rio Grande do Sul”.
Under the proposal, the Federal Government is authorized to make expenses and tax exemptions in favor of Rio Grande do Sul without having to comply with the rules on spending limits.
Lula da Silva signed the document during a meeting at the Planalto palace to discuss aid to Rio Grande do Sul, alongside the president of the Senate, Rodrigo Pachecho, of the Chamber of Deputies, Arthur Lira, and the vice president of the Supreme Federal Court , Edson Fachin.
“We are going to do everything in our power so that we can contribute to the recovery of the state of Rio Grande do Sul, to improve people’s lives and to facilitate the lives of its inhabitants in every way we can, obviously within the law,” the president said.
The Government understands that the Fiscal Responsibility Law and the fiscal framework provide for the flexibility of fiscal rules in the event of a public calamity recognized by Congress.
Rio Grande do Sul, a state that borders Argentina and Uruguay, faces the consequences of more than a week of rains that have overflowed rivers, flooded cities and destroyed part of the roads. As of this Monday, 83 deaths and 111 missing had been reported.
