BRASILIA (Reuters) – Brazilian Senator Marcelo Castro said on Wednesday that a constitutional amendment backed by President-elect Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva must exempt at least 100 billion reais ($19 billion) from a constitutional spending cap next year.
In an interview with Reuters, Castro, the key lawmaker handling 2023 budget talks, said the initial idea of permanently excluding the “Bolsa Familia” welfare program from the spending ceiling had “lost a lot of strength.”
The discussions are now for a waiver of one or four years, he added.
(Reporting by Ricardo Brito and Bernardo Caram; Writing by Marcela Ayres)
