Brazil has announced $75bn in infrastructure financing as part of a Growth Acceleration Programme, abbreviated as PAC in Portuguese.
This PAC is Brazil’s third, following a federally funded programme announced by Lula da Silva in 2007, which was expanded by his successor Dilma Rousseff in 2011.
The Financial Times reports that this tranche of funding will be spent on construction and infrastructure, plus green renovations.
Reuters notes that many of the projects will be procured as public-private partnerships (PPPs), with state companies such as oil behemoth Petrobras also providing financing.
Petrobras’ involvement in state funded projects has previously been criticised for financial irregularities, with many remaining incomplete in the wake of the “car wash” corruption scandal.
Lula da Silva, the current and former president, was jailed on corruption and money laundering charges in 2018, although the charges were later annulled.
Rui Costa, Lula da Silva’s chief of staff, said at the PAC launch: “This PAC is different from the other ones. The state will stimulate PPPs.
“It’s time we buried the idea that social responsibility is fiscal irresponsibility.”
The current $75bn PAC is expected to balloon and encompass other sectors such as education, energy, healthcare, and sanitation over the next four years.
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