Another front with the government of Jair Bolsonaro: the vice-president of Brazil qualifies Argentina as “eternal beggar”

RIO DE JANEIRO.- The government of Jair Bolsonaro on Thursday added a new and harsh criticism of the country. The Brazilian vice-president, Hamilton Mourão, described Argentina as an “eternal beggar”, while defending a policy of expense adjustment at an event with investors.

Referring to the definition of the Brazilian budget for 2021, Mourão said that Brazil must stay within the limits of public spending to avoid bankruptcy and thus become its neighbor country.

“One thing is clear: we must operate within the limits of the fiscal anchor that we have,” said the vice president, a retired army general. “We cannot escape the budgetary anchor, otherwise the country will go bankrupt. If the country goes bankrupt, we will be equal to our neighbor to the south, Argentina, the eternal beggar», Asurer Mourão.

Mourão’s statements took place at a virtual event hosted by XP, one of Brazil’s largest financial firms. The 67-year-old Brazilian vice-president is often seen by the Brazilian press as one of the “pragmatic” counterweights to Bolsonaro in the country’s diplomatic relations.

The vice president cited that the Brazilian public debt it has tripled in the past 12 years and reached almost 90% of gross domestic product (GDP). In addition, he stressed that he is in budget deficit for the seventh consecutive year and that the interest rate will be raised to contain an “inflationary situation”.

Mourão’s remarks add to a long list of disqualifications voiced by Brazilian government officials and also by President Bolsonaro himself. Last month, Economy Minister Paulo Guedes said that If Brazil makes bad economic policy decisions, it would take “six months to become Argentina” and “a year and a half to become Venezuela”.

Brazil is Argentina’s main trading partner. Bolsonaro was planning to visit the country on March 26 for the 30th anniversary celebrations of Mercosur, which was ultimately canceled due to the Covid-19 outbreak in the region. Since the hypothesis of Alberto Fernandez, the presidents of Brazil and Argentina were unable to meet in person.

The largest country in the region is currently global epicenter of the pandemic with almost a quarter of daily deaths worldwide.

The same day the country recorded 4,190 confirmed deaths from the virus, the vice-president assured that the population “is not one of the most disciplined” and that there is “fatigue” in relation to the measures social isolation. President Bolsonaro insisted on Wednesday that a “national lockdown” would not be adopted to curb infections, a measure long claimed by scientists.

Brazil faces difficulties in the supply of raw materials for the manufacture of vaccines, which raises concerns about a possible delay in the vaccination plan. So far, just over 10% have received one of the two planned doses.