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Brazil's Vice-President, José Alencar, declared that "the interest rate structure in Brazil is an absurdity, since no country pays the interest rates that Brazil pays. It is at least ten times more than the average in 40 countries around the world."
According to the Vice-President, the only explanation for the positive results achieved by the industrial sector and other areas of the Brazilian economy, despite the high interest rates, is a supernatural force.
"The sole impression one has is that we signed a pact with the devil, because these interest rates are erroneous."
In Alencar's opinion, "this subjects Brazilian firms that must rely on internally generated funds to unequal treatment." For the vice-president, these firms "are doomed to failure. For many years we have been growing at an average rate of 2.5%, and this is little for Brazil."
Alencar emphasized that Brazil "is a nation that possesses superior conditions for development, in terms of both natural and human resources. Therefore, we require an interest rate structure that gives Brazilian firms greater leverage, as is the case in other countries."
The Vice-President participated in the 2005 Knowledge Medal awards ceremony, at which ten personalities from the spheres of business and technology were honored.
The Medal was created by the Brazilian Ministry of Development, Industry, and Foreign Trade, with the support of the National Confederation of Industry (CNI) and the Brazilian Small Business Support Service (Sebrae).
At its most recent meeting the Central Bank's Monetary Policy Committee (Copom) decided to maintain the government's annualized benchmark interest rate (Selic) at 19.75%.
Agência Brasil
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