During meeting of Workers' Party's committee, Lula defends fiscal adjustment
Former President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said the party's priority in Congress is to create political conditions to approve the fiscal adjustment measures submitted by President Rousseff. 
During a speech delivered Thursday (Oct. 29) at a meeting of the Workers' Party's National Committee, former President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said the party's priority in Congress is to create political conditions to approve the fiscal adjustment measures submitted by President Rousseff.
"The number one priority—if we are willing to actually begin to govern this country—is to create conditions to approve the measures that Dilma had submitted to Congress so that she finally settles the issue of the adjustment. Without settling the adjustment, we are thrown into a political confusion and the great confusion [damages] credibility," stated Lula.
For the former president, Rousseff is aware that the only way to start enhancing the PT's and the government's prestige once again is through economic recovery.
Lula defended bringing back the old MF tax (Temporary Contribution on Financial Transactions), and outlined his strategy to begin by voting the government's interest bills in Congress, instead of “trying to ouster the lower house speaker and then rejecting the impeachment requests, for only then if all goes as expected, vote on things that Dilma wants. I think it's important for us to measure it. The government's term is expiring, our situation is a situation in which we must urgently begin to recover the potential that our president has had before," said the ex-president.
Acknowledging that the government is proposing adjustments not announced by President Rousseff during the election campaign, the former president explained: "We had to change our speech and do things we said we wouldn't do."
Lula also criticized of the party demanding Levy's ouster as loud as they say no for IMF. And he noted that the fiscal adjustment policies had been established before Levy.
During his speech, which lasted more than an hour, Lula fiercely defended President Dilma Rousseff and the PT, and invited the PT voters to do the same. "Our main task now is to polish our party's and Dilma's image. It's not fair to have Dilma going through the things she is going through, for her life story and character, and for everything she represents for us and for this country," he added.
About the governability, the ex-president declared that the parties are weakened and it hampers the possibility of reaching agreements. He pointed out that at the moment the PT has been under a “huge bomb blast”, but the party has always "acted like Phoenix rising from the ashes. "
Lula minimized the search and seizure warrant executed by the federal police as part of the new phase of Operation Zealots, involving companies which have Luis Claudio Lula da Silva among their partners—the son of the former president. He declared he still has several children who have not been charged yet.
Translated by Amarílis Anchieta
Fonte: During meeting of Workers' Party's committee, Lula defends fiscal adjustment
