Fernando Medina explained in an interview with RTP this Monday the announcement of the 3.57% interim increase in pensions, refusing to call it a retreat. The Minister of Finance does speak of a correction of the “base effect” of the given increase in 2022.
“We live in a time of great uncertainty. It is important to be careful and not make decisions that we have to reverse. At the end of 2022, when we did not yet know the consequences of the war in Ukraine and China’s recovery after the pandemic, we decided to raise immediately and stabilize for 2023. The law said 0% in one year and 8% in another and what we did was 4% in one and 4% in another. what we did was the base effect of having raised to 4% in 2022,” he explained to Telejornal.
“The calculation method has always been applied. In 2024 everything will return to normal. What we announced today is that we can adjust the value for 2024,” he added,
Medina recalls being criticized for assuming a 1.3% growth forecast for the economy when he presented the 2023 state budget (OE) and that growth will eventually be even greater. “We presented the OE in October and then I said the economy would grow by 1.3%. The opposition parties said I was very optimistic. Today we are confident that the economy will grow by more than 1.3% We are very confident that we will not have a recession in 2023,” he stressed.
The minister says that the accounts of the State “are in order from the point of view of the budget deficit” and emphasizes that the extra money raised in taxes has been distributed among the households. “We already have the 2023 IRS reduction program, which mainly covers the poorest and those with children. Everything the state received in taxes was distributed to families. We have the privilege of supporting those who need it most , the most vulnerable,” he argued.
Medina says that “inflation is decreasing” and assures that “it will fall a lot this year, especially from April” but that “there is one area, that of food products, where it has remained more insistent”.
Asked about the Portuguese’s perceived dissatisfaction with the government, the minister said he understands that “in times of high inflation and rising interest rates, they cannot be satisfied”.
Source: DN
