Balance of accounts

Secretary of the National Treasury, Ana Paula Vescovi, said that Brazil will be able to reduce public debt and will grow stronger again

National Treasury Secretary Ana Paula Vescovi said that Brazil will recover the investment grade, a kind of seal that says how much a country is safe for investors. She also said that public debt will fall again.

During the release of the Annual Public Debt Report, the secretary argued that the Treasury, which is responsible for debt management, is dealing with the current economic downturn and "making the best possible combination of risk and cost".

Reducing public debt or putting it on a sustainable path is important for Brazil to grow stronger. When the outlook is rampant, the financial market understands that there is more risk of defaulting and consequently charges more interest to fund the government.

The interest rate paid by the government acts as a guide to the rest of the economy - if it is too high for the government, it will also be high for business and for consumers.

Expectations for public debt in 2017

"That our fiscal policy actions can reduce the pressure on public debt and that we can return to our debt path as usual," he said.

Ana Paula reported that the Brazilian public debt ended 2016 at R $ 3,113 trillion, with an increase of 11.45% compared to 2015. For 2017, the expectation is that it is between R $ 3.45 trillion and R $ 3.65 trillion .

Source: Portal Brazil, with information from the National Treasury