In letter to Congress, Temer defends reforms to help country out of the crisis

President Michel Temer sent a message to Congress on Thursday (2 February) defending the reforms proposed by the government to help Brazil out of the crisis, such as pension and labour reforms.

The letter was taken to Congress by Presidential Chief of Staff Eliseu Padilha and read in the plenary by the second secretary of the National Congress Directing Board, Senator Gladson Cameli (PP-AC), as part of the rites for the first legislative session of 2017.

“It is time to face the major reforms that Brazil needs without hesitation. These are vital reforms to restore the credibility that brings investment, creates jobs," Temer said. For him, the country now "has direction", despite still facing a crisis.

The President praised the work of the National Congress, which, according to him, has been able to live up to the serious circumstances facing Brazil. "The Legislature was, is and will be the protagonist of the collective work that is the recovery of Brazil".

Check out the entire content of President Temer's message to Congress:

Dear members of the National Congress,

I speak respectfully to you, in compliance with the Federal Constitution, to convey my message in light of the opening of this year's legislative session.

It is a constitutional mandate that the President address the National Congress regarding the situation of the country and suggest measures for the coming year.

Exposing the situation we have inherited does not accommodate half-words: Brazil is in crisis.

But, just as that is true, it is no less true that our country now has direction. A direction which, as must be in a democracy, is being built with the efforts of all. It has been built with open, honest, constructive dialogue, free from prejudice and dogmatism. This is the method of our Government.

Over the past few months, we managed to present diagnoses that reflect - objectively and without voluntarism - the situation in the country. We were able to coordinate proposals, which have already begun to be implemented and yield results. Above all, we managed to listen to all sides and restore harmony and respect between the Executive and the Legislature.

The National Congress, now as at other times, has been able to rise to the seriousness of the circumstances we face. The Legislature was, is and will be the protagonist of the collective work that is the recovery of Brazil.

A collective work that necessarily involves the Federal Government, States and Municipalities. We are strengthening the federative spirit. Policies that meet the desires of Brazilians require, within the diversity that is our hallmark, convergence of purpose and actions between federal entities. We are all public officials at the service of citizens.

Our shared mission, which unites Brazilians from all corners and political forces of all stripes, is to overcome the worst crisis in our history. An economic crisis, primarily of fiscal origin, which has led to significant retraction of our Gross Domestic Product in the last two years. A social crisis whose most dramatic facet is the unemployment of millions of workers. And a political crisis that echoes the cry for higher, more rigorous ethical standards in public life.

The crisis has multiple dimensions - but Brazil is bigger than all of them. Our past shows that we know how to walk together, to reach beyond structural differences. Ours is a history of overcoming difficulties.

While saying the word 'crisis' is inevitable when exposing Brazil's current scenario, the key term when introducing the path to the future is 'reform'.

It is time to face the major reforms Brazil needs without hesitation. Vital reforms to restore the credibility that brings investment, creates jobs. Crucial reforms so we can have an efficient State, one that ensures opportunities for all. A State that corresponds to the legitimate expectations of citizens.

In 2016, we took important steps to advance the reform agenda.
With the ceiling for public expenditures, we have immunised Brazil against fiscal populism. The ceiling is a common-sense measure coming from a simple observation: we cannot spend beyond our ability to pay. Unbalanced public accounts threaten healthcare, threaten education, threaten all public policies.

With the State-owned Enterprise Liability Law, merit and technical capacity now prevail in the direction of companies that are the heritage of all Brazilians. With the new pre-salt law, common sense returned to the oil and gas sector. With the Grow Project, we are reformulating our concessions model to introduce predictability, stability and legal certainty.

But the agenda of essential reforms for Brazil was not exhausted in the last year. We still have much to do together, and we will need your continued support.

Of the tasks we have before us, the most urgent is to save Social Security. The Government has submitted to Congress a proposal for serious and consequential reform. We all know that it is a sensitive issue - but it can no longer be postponed. Today, our Social Security accounts don't add up, and the demographic reality is inevitable.

Reform is essential to ensure the pensions of tomorrow, to ensure a more secure future for our young. As such, it is crucial for the soundness of public finances, for the credibility of the economy, for new investments, to create jobs.

Jobs remain our obsession. Hence the priority we have also attached to labour reform. We need rules that are more adjusted to the contemporary economy. This is not, in any way, an attempt to abolish rights which are sacred. The reform is about modernising the rules governing labour relations and unleashing the productive potential of the country.

A productive potential that will also benefit from truly autonomous regulatory authorities. The general law of regulatory agencies, already passed in the Senate and pending review before the Chamber of Deputies, will give economic agents clearer, more rational parameters to invest. It will create improved conditions for Brazil to grow.

In all, what excites us is an unequivocal social commitment.

Hence the reforms in which we are engaged.

Hence, also, our priority attention to those in vulnerable situations. We have revalued Bolsa Família benefits. We resumed the My House, My Life affordable housing programme. We have increased resources for healthcare in the 2017 Budget. We have launched the Happy Child programme and the Renovation Card subsidy. We have renewed student financing programmes. We have aided actions to combat drought in the Northeast and for the mitigation of its effects.

A more prosperous and less unequal Brazil also depends on quality education. This is the conviction that has led us to also increase the resources allocated to education in the 2017 budget. This is the conviction that moves us in the reform of secondary education. The greatest wealth of the country is in the range of talents and callings of our youth. We need to recognise differences and help the individual potential of our students flourish. Only then will we train better professionals. Only then will we educate better citizens.

But citizenship is not complete if we do not live in safety. Crime in Brazil has reached an unacceptable scale. We cannot tolerate the trivialisation of violence. Many prisons have become barbaric spaces, spaces where organised crime acts without impediment. The phenomenon is serious, and requires an intelligent, coordinated response. The National Security Plan we have proposed incorporates this assumption. It consolidates the convergence of purpose between the three Branches of government, between the Federal Government and the States, between Brazil and its neighbours. It contains specific goals in priority areas, such as combating violence against women.

These many and momentous challenges all become more complex in an interconnected world for which uncertainty is a distinctive mark. The solutions we seek cannot do without external action that effectively reflects the values and interests of the society we serve.

Dear members of the National Congress,

Each historical moment brings its battles.

In our political trajectory, we have fought for democracy, and we have won. We have fought against the inflationary spiral, and have achieved a stable currency. We have fought for social rights, and made progress.

Now, we fight an uncontrolled fiscal policy; we fight recession, unemployment. Let us have no doubt that we will prevail once again.
In 2016, the truth triumphed over illusionism. In 2017, confidence will triumph over dismay.

Brazil did not begin yesterday. We are the product of a long history - a history that never ends, and that today is up to us to write.

Thank you very much.

                                                 Michel Temer

                                           President of the Republic