President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who is seeking reelection, backed lowering the age of criminal responsibility from 18 to 16 for heinous crimes during an interview on TV Globo’s Jornal Nacional on Thursday (Oct. 15).
Lula said he supports debating the issue in Congress once the proposed Public Safety Constitutional Amendment is approved.
“My personal view, as a citizen, is that I support lowering the age of criminal responsibility for all heinous crimes. But that wasn’t what the amendment was addressing. I support lowering it to 16, but not through this amendment. Approve the amendment, and then discuss the issue,” the candidate said in response to journalist Renata Lo Prete.
The amendment, which has passed the lower house, has gained momentum in the Senate and is ready for a plenary vote, which must be held in two rounds. However, no date has been set for the vote. The opposition is seeking to introduce an amendment that would lower the age of criminal responsibility for heinous crimes to 14.
Public safety
Lula called for the approval of the proposed constitutional amendment to strengthen the federal government’s role in public security. According to the president, the Brazilian states “lacked the authority” to ensure public safety.
He stated that, once the amendment is approved, he would be able to establish a Ministry of Public Security, define the roles of the police forces, and prevent criminals from running their operations from inside prisons.
“We need to crack down on organized crime to free communities across the country from criminal control.”
Economy
When asked about public debt - the debt incurred by the National Treasury to finance the federal government’s budget deficit - Lula advocated for economic growth through policies that increase the incomes of the poorest Brazilians.
“I have a theory: a lot of money in the hands of a few means poverty, while a little money in the hands of many means wealth. What drives Brazil’s economy is the microeconomy - it’s about keeping money circulating among the people,” he said.
Lula also noted that under his current administration, Brazil rose from the world’s 12th-largest economy to the 10th-largest by investing in policies aimed at helping the poorest segments of the population.
“Whenever someone tries to address the fiscal problem, it’s the poor who pay the price. And I don’t want the poor to pay. Economic growth doesn’t come from making cuts at the expense of the poor.”
He also backed a 15 percent increase in benefits under Bolsa Família, Brazil’s income-transfer program. According to him, the increase had not been implemented earlier because he had been unaware of the issue.
“I found out that the benefit hadn’t been increased, so I decided to raise the amount paid to recipients because there was fiscal room to do so.”
The Workers’ Party candidate also noted that the Senate had approved the end of the 6x1 work schedule (six days of work followed by one day off) on Wednesday (Oct. 14), a measure championed by his administration.
He also highlighted the government’s measure, announced this week, to cancel debts owed by individual microentrepreneurs (MEIs), among other initiatives, and pledged to make public transportation free on weekends.
US tariff hike
When asked about the economic losses resulting from the tariff increases imposed by the US government, Lula stated that Brazil had successfully sought out other markets to offset the decline in trade with the United States.
“What reassures me is that, despite a 9 percent decline in trade with the United States, trade has grown by 20 percent with China, 15 percent with Indonesia, and 16 percent with Germany. We’ve also set records for our trade surplus,” Lula added.
He also emphasized that he prefers to negotiate a solution with the Trump administration, but has not ruled out applying the principle of reciprocity.
“The United States should be worried about us. I don’t want to invoke the principle of reciprocity, but if we have to, we will. They have more to lose than we do.”