Lula Hails Role of
Venezuelan Investments
in Fighting Poverty
Major Venezuelan
investments are helping
fight poverty in
northeastern Brazil,
Brazilian President Luiz
Inacio Lula da Silva
told his radio show
Coffee With the
President on Monday
"Everything points to
the northeast changing
radically for the
better. These major
public works will create
jobs, hope, income and
investment," said Lula.
Accompanied by his
Venezuelan counterpart
Hugo Chavez, Lula
visited the northeastern
region to formally break
ground on the Abreu de
Lima refinery joint
venture and Growth
Acceleration Program
(PAC) projects in the
province of Pernambuco.
"These works are
extremely important
because they have been
sought for 30 or 40
years, and no one
prioritized them until
we began the PAC
program," he said.
Lula also highlighted
the 1,600-km of railroad
built in northern Brazil
linking the port of
Suape in Pernambuco
province to the city of
Pecem in Ceara province,
as well as other highway
projects designed to
connect the region to
the outside world to
increase export
opportunities.
"The northeast has not
seen a moment like this
in a long time. This is
a moment of hope and a
lot of public and
private investment,"
Lula said.
The northeastern region
occupies 18 percent of
Brazil's territory but
has 29 percent of the
nation's population. The
per capita income of the
region is the lowest in
Brazil and the regional
economy is based on
sugar and cocoa.
The nine northeastern
states are Bahia,
Pernambuco, Ceara,
Maranhao, Rio Grande do
Norte, Paraiba, Alagoas,
Sergipe and Piaui.
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