In Power for One Year, President Michel Temer Failed in Picking his Priorities

05/12/2017 - 11h53

Michel Temer has failed to make headway in terms of the priorities he set for his term when he took office. In his first official pronouncement, exactly one year ago, he said that his speech embodied a "set of principles" that he was offering to Brazil.

When he took office, becoming Brazil's interim president, he highlighted that his main objective was to reduce unemployment, offering the following slogan: "Don't talk about the recession: work".

After his first trimester, Brazil's unemployment reached a record breaking 14.2 million people.

The president also said that his administration was counting on popular support and that the "people need to participate and approve of the measures" that he planned to implement.

However, the president's main reforms - the pension and labor reforms - are both rejected by a majority of the population.

The president said that he would make an effort to revise the country's federal pact since, according to him, Brazil's states need to "be truly autonomous". However, his administration failed to do so.

Temer also highlighted the urgent need to restore balance to the government's budget and make adjustments so that the rise in public spending reaches a sustainable level in the long term.

The government managed to further freeze public spending in congress. Even though the government deficit stopped rising for October, the overall trend is still an ascending one.

The official expectation is that the country will only begin to obtain a surplus in 2020, after president Temer has already left office, and that it will only balance its books during the following decade.

Translated by THOMAS MATHEWSON

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