Brazil leftist parties declare support for Minas
BRASILIA, Jan 12 (Reuters) - Brazil's main left-wing opposition parties on Tuesday declared their support for the decision by the governor of Minas Gerais state to set a 90-day moratorium on debt payments to the central government.
''We manifest our support for and solidarity with Governor Itamar Franco who, by decreeing a 90-day suspension of Minas Gerais state's debt and demanding a renegotiation with the Union, laid bare the fiscal reality of all Brazilian states,'' the parties said in a communique.
Franco said last week that he would stop paying back the $13.4 billion in debt that Minas Gerais owes the central government, sparking investor concerns that support for the country's anti-crisis plan is weak.
The communique was signed by the Workers Party (PT) and three other left-leaning parties. The parties urged the central government to renegotiate states' debt, but did not say they would join Itamar Franco by declaring moratoria in the states they control.
''The governors were elected, they have legitimacy and authority, and for that reason the federal government has to sit down and renegotiate the debts, which are today impossible to pay,'' they said.
Rio de Janeiro's governor has said he does not plan to declare a debt moratorium, though he hopes to renegotiate payments with the federal government, while Rio Grande do Sul has sent mixed messages. |
