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WORLD NEWSWednesday 16 September

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Brazil’s austerity package likely to face uphill struggle                                                                              OAS to meet with
                                                                                                                                       Haiti officials over
STAN LEHMAN                      woes have contributed to        action tax, better known by    and revenue that require               October election
Associated Press                 President Dilma Rousseff’s      its Portuguese initials CPMF,  congressional approval is
SAO PAULO (AP) — The             plummeting popularity rat-      was extinguished and sub-      likely to be rejected, with            PORT-AU-PRINCE,       Haiti
Brazilian government’s pro-      ings, which have dipped to      sequent attempts to re-        only a portion gaining ap-
posed spending cuts and          single-digits.                  vive it via a constitutional   proval, and only after be-             (AP) — The Organization
tax hikes are unlikely to re-    The government wants to         amendment have failed.         ing watered down.”
ceive the congressional          revive a financial transac-     The tax consisted of a 0.38    Levy also said the govern-             of American States said
approval that most need to
be enacted, a leading po-                                                                                                              this week that a top rep-
litical risk firm said Tuesday.
The Eurasia Group said in a                                                                                                            resentative will hold high-
statement that Brazil’s Con-
gress will likely reject most                                                                                                          level meetings with Haitian
of the measures, “prompt-
ing the government to seek                                                                                                             officials to support next
other sources of revenue
that don’t require congres-                                                                                                            month’s scheduled first
sional approval.”
Finance Minister Joa-                                                                                                                  round of presidential voting
quim Levy on Monday an-
nounced nearly $7 billion                                                                                                              and the second round of
in spending cuts and mea-
sures to raise tax revenue                                                                                                             regional elections.
by some $10 billion to help
balance public finances                                                                                                                The OAS said it backs hold-
and win back the support
of investors and the busi-                                                                                                             ing the first round of presi-
ness community.
The measures are also                                                                                                                  dential elections on Oct.
aimed at covering an $8
billion shortfall in the 2016                                                                                                          25, when over 50 candi-
budget.
Joaquim Levy says the cuts                                                                                                             dates are expected to run
are to include large-scale
infrastructure projects ini-                                                                                                           for Haiti’s top political job.
tially aimed at stimulating
the South American giant’s                                                                                                             In a statement, the OAS
now-stalling economy. Oth-
er savings will come from                                                                                                              said electoral observation
personnel cuts within Cabi-
net ministry staff, as well as                                                                                                         director Gerardo de Icaza
other cuts to Brazil’s bloat-
ed public sector.                                                                                                                      traveled earlier this week to
Brazil’s economy is in reces-
sion, and the economic                                                                                                                 Haiti’s capital to meet with

                                                                                                                                       the provisional electoral

                                                                                                                                       council and others “in sup-

                                                                                                                                       port of the holding of the

                                                                                                                                       upcoming elections.”

                                                                                                                                       Next week, other OAS of-

                                                                                                                                       ficials will make a prelimi-

                                                                                                                                       nary visit to Haiti to ready

                                 Brazil’s President Dilma Rousseff speaks about proposed budget cuts during a press conference         its observation mission in a

                                 at the Planalto Presidential Palace, in Brasilia, Tuesday, Sept. 15, 2015. Brazil’s Finance Minister  country that is still recover-

                                 announced on Monday nearly $7 billion in spending cuts aimed at covering an $8 billion                ing from a January 2010

                                 shortfall to the 2016 budget. 					                            (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres)                earthquake that devas-

                                 tion tax to generate $8.3       percent charge on nearly       ment wants to delay pub-               tated the capital and sur-
                                 billion a year but the speak-   all financial transactions.    lic servant wage increases,
                                 er of the lower house of        The new CPMF would be          eliminate certain retire-              rounding areas. Last month,
                                 Congress Eduardo Cunha          0.20 percent.                  ment benefits and institute
                                 has said it is unlikely to be   “The government’s strategy     a wage cap for public sec-             the OAS said its monitors
                                 passed.                         of heavily relying on con-     tor workers — measures
                                 “I am against it and I think    gress for both tax hikes and   that that Eurasia said will            found scattered violence
                                 it’s unlikely that it would be  spending cuts strikes us as    find resistance in Congress.
                                 approved here,” he told re-     very problematic,” the Eur-    The country’s two largest              and irregularities in an Aug.
                                 porters.                        asia statement said. “The      trade union federations crit-
                                 In 2007, the financial trans-   bulk of additional savings     icized the measures.q                  9 legislative first round but

                                                                                                                                       not enough to invalidate

                                                                                                                                       results. That long overdue

                                                                                                                                       round for the entire Cham-

                                                                                                                                       ber of Deputies and two

                                                                                                                                       thirds of the Senate was

                                                                                                                                       considered a test run for the

                                                                                                                                       Oct. 25 elections. Just 18

Puerto Rico relaxes charges of some pot cases                                                                                          percent of registered voters

                                                                                                                                       turned out. Haitian election

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP)       said the island’s justice sec-  offenses.                      Legislators in the U.S. terri-         council officials have said
— Puerto Rico is relaxing        retary will make that deci-     The announcement comes         tory are now holding public
prosecution against first-       sion on a case-by-case ba-      as Puerto Rico faces a li-     hearings on the issue.                 that the first-round legisla-
time offenders found with        sis.                            quidity crunch amid a near-    Justice Secretary Cesar Mi-
marijuana for personal use       Garcia noted that the De-       ly decade-long economic        randa has said that smok-              tive contest will be redone
in the U.S. territory.           partment of Corrections         slump.                         ing marijuana for medicinal
Gov. Alejandro Garcia Pa-        spent nearly $2.3 million in    In May, Garcia issued an ex-   purposes will not be allowed           in 25 of Haiti’s 119 constitu-
dilla signed an executive or-    December on those ac-           ecutive order directing the    in Puerto Rico, but that the
der on Monday stating that       cused of marijuana pos-         island’s health secretary to   government would allow                 encies due to the disorder
those found with six grams       session, adding that public     authorize the use of some      patients access to cannabis
or less of marijuana could       funds would be better spent     controlled substances or       derivatives that would be in-          and violence that partially
face only a fine, community      elsewhere fighting violence     derivatives of the cannabis    haled or used orally, such as
service or rehabilitation. He    and other more severe drug      plant for medical use.         potions or pills.q                     marred voting in August.

                                                                                                                                       But last week, the Verite

                                                                                                                                       party, a major political fac-

                                                                                                                                       tion associated with former

                                                                                                                                       President Rene Preval, is-

                                                                                                                                       sued a statement saying it

                                                                                                                                       would withdraw from the

                                                                                                                                       elections.q
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