Address by the President of the Republic, Michel Temer, during a special dinner celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Brazilian Association of Supermarkets (ABRAS) and National Supermarket Day
São Paulo/SP, 8 November 2018
I want to very quickly salute João Sanzovo and his wife, Mrs. Suzana.
Salute the ministers who accompany me.
Caio;
Marcos Jorge, and
Carlos Marun;
Senator Luiz do Carmo;
Federal deputies Efraim Filho and his wife Flavia Carolina;
Sandro Mabel;
Federal Deputy-elect Glaustin da Fokus;
Paulo Solmucci, president of the National Union of Commerce and Services Entities;
And finally, to salute all the friends who are here. Especially the lady who has just won an award for the participation of women in the supermarket sector.
It's interesting. I registered a curious fact, I make this preliminary comment, that... You see how compliance with the legal order is an important thing. You know that the Constitution of [19]88, unlike the other earlier constitutions, which said the following when they spoke of the equity that was often mentioned here... They said that "all are equal before the law”.
Very well. Women grew so much in the Brazilian social fabric that when I arrived on 5 October 1988, and I was a constituent - it was my first term as a federal deputy - we put it there: "Men and women are equal in rights and duties." And you see that the consolidation of that was precisely the delivery of a prize to you at this time.
It is important, this participation - I want to thank João Sanzovo, and everyone, for this opportunity. And, of course, I can say that it is, after the extraordinary words that were spoken by João here... very smoothly, wasn't it, João? You have that capacity, say, oratory, of great tranquillity, of one who was mayor of Jaú, and knows how to speak with the people... With softness, an extraordinary kindness, but still being able to say everything. And every word he said was met with applause. Likewise Efraim, who, with the strength, with the extraordinary force of the parliament, and a representative that he also is of this sector of ABRAS, came here and spoke absolute truths. Truths, Efraim, that many people today would not enjoy saying. And you came and said very truthfully, with great tranquillity, what Brazilians should hear. As well as our Caio, our Marcos George, our Marun. They also came here with extraordinary strength but also with much dignity, they spoke to celebrate the anniversary of Abras. And I say, quite honestly, that I'm very humbled to receive this homage.
And, interestingly, I heard the speeches and the feeling I had here - and every time I hear these demonstrations, I say the following: "Interesting, we are putting Brazil in the 21st century." Because when I took office two and a half years ago, less than two and a half years ago, Brazil was still in the twentieth century. And we said "we're in the twentieth century" because we had, for example, labour legislation dating back to 1943. We had this issue of outsourcing and so many other labour contracts that were modernised precisely in our government. So, every time I hear these demonstrations, I say: "Interesting, we did really put Brazil in the 21st century”.
And here I was thinking - it is interesting, isn't it, João? - 50 years ago, when Abras was created, what did those who created Abras think about supermarkets? Would they think that 50 years later there would be the extraordinary vibrancy that this dinner is revealing? Every moment I see, every manifestation, every hug I receive here, I see that the sector has grown enormously. And growing as it grew, it could not stay in the business as usual of retail, but it had to achieve the status it has achieved precisely in our government.
So I want, at this moment, to say that I am very grateful to you. I, as President of the Republic, have spent so much time in the Brazilian Parliament, haven't I? I am grateful to what you do for Brazil.
And another thing that moves me at this moment is that somehow I remember my childhood, my early childhood. João said: "Your father also had a small retail store, didn't he? A long time ago." I said: "He did". And so this meeting also recalls precisely the figure of my father, who came from abroad and he did his best here, with the little trade he had, with the little activity he had, he managed to raise his children, the eight children - me, I'm the last one. And he raised them in such a way, and so welcoming is the Brazilian homeland, that, although they came from abroad, his son became President of the Republic. Look at what Brazil is. That's Brazil. Brazil is this welcoming land, isn't it? This land that seeks more and more, and we will seek more and more peace among all Brazilians.
And I always say that... this morning, when I inaugurated the Motor Show - today we're celebrating, João - a great... a great moment here for supermarkets. But in the morning I inaugurated the Motor Show, and saw the extraordinary technological breakthroughs. And on verifying these technological advances, I saw how the automotive sector grew in Brazil. A fantastic thing. I was reminded of Efraim just now, he said to me, "Look, don't forget to say" - right, Caio? - "that each time, the number of formal job contract increases." Last month there were 137 thousand formal jobs, and Caio told me that, until the end of the year, formal contracts alone... And much due to the activity of the supermarkets. We open supermarkets on Saturdays and Sundays precisely to encourage employment, to join the two productive forces of the country: the supermarket sector and employees. These are two sectors that build national life.
So when I see that we will reach the end of the year with more than 1 million formal job contracts, when I see that we will arrive [at the end of the year] with more than 2 million and 200 thousand job posts. A job post here means the following: people who were unemployed because the economy was fragile, and began to set up a small business, a small activity. So Brazil is taking shape again. And this is due, my friends, to the partnership that we of the government have made with the private sector. And in particular, with supermarkets.
So here, I must recall, what was the thought of whose who 50 years ago decided to create this association? If those, if any of those are still here, they should hold extraordinary pride, because they can certainly say "We help develop our country". That is why I, as President of the Republic, say to you: Thank you! For the government and for Brazil.
Thank you very much.