Brazil’s lower house pass ‘war budget’ as coronavirus cases surpass 10K

As coronavirus spreads rapidly across Brazil, the lower house of Congress reportedly approved the amendment for a ‘war budget’. As per reports, the budget will help separate the coronavirus-related spending from the government’s main budget and it will also protect the economy of the country. Currently, Brazil has more than 10,300 confirmed coronavirus cases and the deadly virus has claimed more than 440 lives in the country. 

According to an international media outlet, the amendment creates an extraordinary regime to prevent expenses related to a ‘state of emergency’ decree triggered by the pandemic from being mixed with the federal budget over the same period. The bill will also grant the Brazilian central bank emergency bond-being powers to stabilise the financial markets. However, the bill is yet to get the Senate’s approval by three-fifths of the votes which is expected to take place next week. 

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Brazil’s central bank president, Roberto Campos, reportedly said that the authorities must ensure that the money reaches key sectors. He said that the officials will have to start discussing what the country needs and what kind of intervention they want to make. Furthermore, he said that authorities need to move quickly to boost market liquidity as they still have an arsenal of measure to adopt. He also informed that the financial system currently sold enough and actions altogether have the potential to inject up to $224.32 billion in liquidity. 

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Brazil seeks help from India

Brazil is one of the countries struggling to get medical supplies from China. Earlier this week, Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro also asked India to support the continuity of the supply of pharmaceutical inputs for the production of hydroxychloroquine, an anti-malarial drug that some say can be used to treat critical COVID-19 cases. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Bolsonaro reportedly discussed how they can join forces to deal with the deadly coronavirus crisis. 

Bolsonaro, in a tweet said, “In contact with the Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi, I requested support in the continuity of the supply of pharmaceutical inputs for the production of hydroxychloroquine. We will spare no effort to save lives”. 

(with inputs from agencies)

(Image source: AP) 

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