President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva defended, on Thursday (the 3rd), the granting of real increases to the minimum wage during a ceremony at the Palácio do Planalto. Lula questioned the impact of the policy on public accounts and stated that the debate over fiscal balance frequently shifts the responsibility onto workers, retirees, and social assistance program beneficiaries.
During the event, Lula criticized those who argue that real increases to the minimum wage would harm the country. "Now the miracle workers appear saying that you can't give a real increase to the minimum wage because that would end the minimum wage. People, what is giving 3% real increase to the lowest salary in the country? What is this going to break this country?" he declared.
At the same ceremony, the government announced it has cleared the backlog of initial INSS requests. According to the data presented, the average time for a decision dropped to 34 days, below the 45-day deadline used as a reference by the Executive.
The announcement does not mean there are no pending requests, but rather that requests have begun to be analyzed within the deadline established by the government.
