New Brazil Economic Team Downgrades Expectations for Budget
- Primary gap could reach 170.5 billion reais, minister says
- That would be the worst primary result in Brazil’s history
New Brazilian Finance Minister Henrique Meirelles speaks during a press conference to announce the names of the new members of the government's economic team in Brasilia on May 17, 2016.
Photographer: Evaristo Sa/AFP via Getty ImagesBrazil’s new economic team projects the largest budget deficit before interest payments on record this year, underscoring the challenge Acting President Michel Temer will face in turning around Latin America’s biggest economy.
Temer’s administration will submit a bill that would allow it to report a primary budget gap of 170.5 billion reais ($48.4 billion) in 2016, Finance Minister Henrique Meirelles said Friday. The estimate is realistic and transparent, and doesn’t include possible spending cuts and revenue increases that require congressional approval, he said. It’s for the central government only, meaning it doesn’t take into consideration state or city budgets.