Brazil Congress approves 4-year spending plan
Reuters, 06/15/2000 19:58
BRASILIA, June 15 (Reuters) - Brazil's Congress on Thursday approved government-proposed four-year investment and spending program worth 1.11 trillion reais ($616 billion).
The plan still has to be signed by President Fernando Henrique Cardoso, who was behind its creation.
The plan, released last August, forecasts 8.5 million new jobs and steady growth of the gross domestic product over the next four years, with GDP growing 4 percent this year, 4.5 percent in 2001 and 5 percent in 2002 and 2003.
The economy grew 1 percent in crisis-marked 1999, while inflation clocked 8.9 percent.
Under the plan, the government forecast inflation would hit 6.7 percent in 2000, 4.32 percent in 2001, 3.45 percent in 2002 and 2.99 percent in 2003.
Government critics have said the plan is aimed at boosting Cardoso's low popularity rankings after people's sharp disenchantment in the government's economic policies during last year's crisis and austere fiscal measures that followed.
($1=1.8 reais)
Copyright 2000, Reuters News Service
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