Following an earlier pledge to build one million new homes for low-income residents and workers in Brazil, President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, recently announced plans to spend some 34 billion reais, or US$15.1 billion, on the project to help spark the slowing economy. Finance Minister Guido Mantega said that the drive to build new homes will add 60 billion reais into the economy, increase growth by 2 percent and create 1.5 million new jobs.
President Lula is trying to increase the economic growth of Brazil in the face of the global economic recession. Brazil is Latin America’s largest economy and it is hoping the housing plans will help the country to continue to grow this year.
“This is an emergency response, on the one hand to the global economic crisis and on the other to the housing problems faced by some Brazilians,” Lula noted in a speech in Brasilia. Budget Minister Paulo Bernardo indicated that the housing plan would cost 6.5 billion reais in 2009.
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