On Wednesday (17), the Minister of Defense, José Mucio Monteiro Filho, participated in an audience at the Foreign Relations and National Defense Committee (CREDN), of the House of Representatives, where he defended the expansion of budgetary resources for Defense as a way to ensure sovereignty and contribute to the socioeconomic development of the country. Just like in the Senate, during a hearing on the same topic on May 4th, the minister was accompanied by the Armed Forces Commanders and the Armed Forces Joint Chief of Staff.
“We need to invest in security and defense, which, besides generating well-being, guaranteeing our integrity, our sovereignty, and making us respected as a nation, have the potential to contribute to the social, economic, and technological development of Brazil,” said the minister. The defense sector generates 2.9 million direct and indirect jobs.
Currently, the defense budget represents 1.12% of the Brazilian Gross Domestic Product (GDP), whereas NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) recommends that nations invest 2% of their GDP in defense. “Our country is still well below this level. We need to balance the investments in defense so that we can reach levels compatible with our territorial dimension and with Brazil’s geopolitical stature”, José Mucio emphasized.
In the line of social development, the minister of Defense also made an assessment of the social programs in the scope of the ministry. “The Soldado Cidadão (Citizen Soldier) Project, in existence for 18 years, has already benefited more than 260,000 young people. The Rondon Project, which has been in operation for 55 years, has assisted almost 25,000 rondonists from 2,469 educational institutions in 1,196 municipalities. The Forças no Esporte (Forces in Sports) project and the João do Pulo project served, respectively, 19,500 children in 125 municipalities and 814 people with special needs in 19 municipalities”, he stated.
Foreign Relations and National Defense Committee – The CREDN is part of the 30 permanent committees of the House of Representatives. In each committee, the objective is for deputies to debate and vote on legislative proposals related to their respective themes. The participation of the Minister of Defense was requested by congressmen Paulo Alexandre Barbosa (PSDB-SP), Marcel van Hattem (Novo-RS), and Luiz Philippe de Orleans e Bragança (PL-SP).
By Ascom – Photos: Victor Chagas