Brazil Party Leader Calls For Common Sense On Moratorium
Dow Jones Newswires
BRASILIA -- The leader of the government-allied Democratic Movement Party (PMDB) in Brazil's lower house of Congress Thursday called for "common sense" on the issue of the moratorium declared by Minas Gerais on its debt with the federal government.
As reported, newly-elected Minas Gerais governor Itamar Franco, a former Brazilian president, Wednesday announced a 90-day suspension of payments toward its debt to the federal government, which is estimated at 15 billion reals (BRR) ($1=BRR1.20).
Government-allied party leaders held a two-hour meeting with President Fernando Henrique Cardoso Thursday morning and discussed the move by Franco.
After the meeting, the PMDB leader in the Chamber of Deputies, Gedel Vieira Lima, said common sense is needed to resolve "what is basically an administrative issue."
Franco is a member of the PMDB, but often is in strong opposition to President Fernando Henrique Cardoso.
A suggestion to send a delegation of pro-government PMDB congressmen, led by Transport Minister Eliseu Padilha, to the Minas Gerais state capital to try to change Franco's mind was discarded at the meeting.
Any such delegation would have to travel without Padilha, who is committed to taking part in the first cabinet meeting of Cardoso's second-term government slated for Friday.
Thursday's meeting with Cardoso was also attended by Communications Minister Pimenta de Veiga, Social Security Minister Waldeck Ornellas, presidential Chief-of-Staff Clovis Carvalho, Labor Minister Francisco Dornelles, Justice Minister Renan Calheiros and Environment Minister Sarney Filho.
The meeting's participants also decided to create a special commission to
study alternatives to an original proposal for social security contributions by
retired civil workers.
The original, which was part of the social security reform bill, was defeated by Congress at the end of last year. The government has vowed to re-introduce the proposal in a different format.
According to Gedel Vieira Lima, the commission should have its proposal ready to be voted in Congress by February.
-By William Vanvolsem; (5561) 244 3095; wvanvolsem@ap.org
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