On Friday 12 May, Finance Minister Henrique Meirelles stressed the scale of the changes Brazil has gone through over the past 12 months. Since President Temer took office, it has been possible to introduce a number of measures to strengthen the economy.

"Brazil has changed more in the past year than in many decades", said Meirelles in his speech at 'A Year of Achievements', a ministerial meeting summoned to take stock of the progress achieved in the first 12 months of the Temer administration. The event took place at the Presidential Palace in the presence of all Cabinet Ministers and other senior government authorities.

In his speech, Meirelles pointed out that this government took office during the worst recession in the recent history of our country. Therefore, it was necessary to introduce a number of measures to put the economy back on track. “Brazil is growing again. We are still experiencing the effects of recession (....), but unemployment will start falling in the second half of this year", he added.

Reflecting such measures, the economy has been showing signs of recovery, and has presented a positive growth in the first quarter of this year. Brazil, according to Meirelles, has regained the confidence of investors, businesses and families. This recovery was driven by measures implemented by the government to modernise the country and the economy.

Economic indicators

In order to highlight Brazil's economic recovery, the minister presented indicators such as the Brazil Country Risk, which has dropped from 500 points in May last year to around 200 points now, and also mentioned other important factors, such as the US dollar depreciation and the rise in stock markets, which confirm that this administration has built a strong basis for growth during its first year.

"All these factors have provided a strong basis for the economy to grow. And this is all due to your administration, President Temer. The government has been facing fundamental problems", he said. "It has been a lot of hard work, but we are now reaping the results", he added.