Brazil’s Lula launches ‘re-industrialisation’ plan for next decade
5881 Min Read
Brazil’s government on Monday unveiled an industrial development plan for the next 10 years aimed at boosting growth in the sluggish economy with state credit and subsidies for companies, as well as local content requirements.
The new plan marks an effort by President Luiz Inacio Lula to kick-start the economy, using a playbook similar to one followed during his 2003-2010 presidential terms. Those efforts were undermined by falling commodities prices and a sprawling corruption scandal that landed Lula in jail until his convictions were overturned.
“For once and for all, we need to overcome the problem of Brazil always being on the verge and but never quite becoming a developed country,” Lula said at the launch.
The leftist Lula has called the plan a “re-industrialization” effort to change policies that focused on agricultural production and exports by Brazil, a major global food producer, at the expense of national industry during the administration of his hard-right predecessor Jair Bolsonaro.
The National Development Bank BNDES said it has earmarked 250 billion reais ($50 billion) in funds for Lula’s plan, with another 50 billion reais coming from other state sources.
