Inflation Is "Atypical" and "Very Concerning", Says Rousseff

06/12/2015 - 15h41

President Dilma Rousseff said in Brussels that Brazil's inflation in May of 8.47% in 12 months is "atypical" and "very concerning". However, she believes this increase in inflation should not cause people to reduce consumption.

"On the contrary, I think the population has to keep consuming," she said, after the Europe Union-Celac Summit (Latin American and Caribbean States).

Although the Central Bank says the increase in the prices that are managed by the government are among the reasons for concern, Rousseff did not take responsibility for it. "Inflation this year is atypical; it is the result of several adjustments. It is a goal that we must take down and soon."

Regarding the 2008 crisis, Rousseff mentioned the former President Lula's statement that it was a "tsunami" in the U.S., but it would come to Brazil as a "little sea wave".

In July 2014, when Rousseff was still a candidate for re-election, she said in an interview that it was a mistake to call the crisis a "little sea wave". Yesterday, however, the President defended Lula's statement again.

"For us, in that moment, yes, it was. But then, the little sea wave accumulates and turns into a wave. Do you know why it becomes a wave? Because the sea is not calmer, my son. If the sea had calmed down, I mean, if the American economy had, in fact, had a crisis in 'V', going down and then up. But it wasn't that. How long ago was that? Seven years of crisis we have in the back. Seven years."

Translated by JULIANA CALDERARI

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	Stephanie Lecocq/Efe
	President Dilma Rousseff in Brussels, during a meeting between the European Union and the Celac