Brasilia, Jan 2 (IANS/EFE) Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff has begun her second term with a promise to safeguard the poor against the fiscal adjustment in the pipeline, and has promised a pact against corruption that caused the latest scandal involving the state-owned Petrobas oil company.
These were the central points of her speech Thursday during her swearing-in ceremony before the legislature where representatives from 70 countries were also present, including the presidents of Bolivia, Chile, Costa Rica, Paraguay, Uruguay and Venezuela, and also the vice-presidents of the US and China.
“More than anybody, I know Brazil needs to resume growth. The first steps of this journey are an overhaul of the public accounts, increasing domestic savings. But we will do this with least sacrifices possible from the people, especially the most needy,” Rousseff said.
Though the government was yet to estimate the volume of adjustment, it has warned that it would be severe, which Rousseff has pledged would be undertaken without fiddling with the country’s labour protection laws.
She also reaffirmed her promise to maintain all labour and social security rights.
She vowed to tackle corruption, which promises to be a thorn in her side during her second term, through a “national pact” that would apply to all sectors and agencies of the governments or factions in power.
Rousseff also explicitly mentioned the case of Petrobas, which was being operated by businessmen and politicians, where it was estimated that funds amounting to 10 billion Brazilian reals (about $3.76 billion) were misappropriated.
She promised to thoroughly investigate the case and place mechanisms to prevent such instances from recurring, while also urging Brazilians to defend the company against “internal predators and external enemies”, whom she did not identify.
Regarding foreign policy, Rousseff said her priority would be the integration of South America, Latin America and the Caribbean, without any ideological discrimination.
She also laid emphasis on relations with Africa, Asia and the Arab world, and improvement of relations with the US, the European Union (EU) and Japan.
Relations with the US have been in the deep freeze since 2013 when former CIA analyst Edward Snowden leaked information saying that US intelligence had been spying on the Brazilian president.
Improving relations with the US was of great importance because of its economic, political, scientific and technological importance, as well as the volume of bilateral trade, she said.
US Vice-President Joe Biden was given special place of importance as he was the only foreign delegate to be granted an audience with her on the inauguration day.
However, the official ceremony did not witness much fanfare nor participation from Rousseff’s Workers’ Party.
While it was expected that about 30,000 party members would be mobilised for the event, only 10,000 to 15,000 members attended her inauguration.
On her first day at work, Rousseff is expected to have a private meeting with Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.
She is then to receive Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Lofven, Chinese Vice-President Yi Yuanchao and President of Guinea Bissau Mario Jose Vaz.
–IANS/EFE
ab/vt