Days before the elections’ second turn, senator Marco Maciel (PFL-PE) pointed out the importance of a faster economic growth and the consolidation of Brazilian institutions, by means of a political reform. If the latter is a challenge faced by the Congress, he observed, the next president will be responsible for leading the country to higher rates of economic growth.

Maciel also stated that regional asymmetries cannot be left behind by the development impulse. According to him, the worst scenario is in the Northeast, a region which, he said, benefited from several initiatives of candidate Geraldo Alckmin (PSDB) government program.

Besides the proposal for recreating the Northeast Development Agency (Sudene) and binding it to the Presidency, an increase in the region’s budget could be given, regarding the Regional Development Index (IDR). Two new financing mechanisms would also be analyzed: a venture capital fund for the Northeast and a specific public-private partnership (PPPs) fund.

In an incidental remark, senator Mão Santa (PMDB-PI) found it natural for a doctor to enter politics (as Alckmin and Mão Santa himself did), since they are used to dealing with health, which by United Nations definition, comprehends physical, mental and social welfare.