SAO PAULO, July 9 (Xinhua) -- Brazil has been coping well with the economic challenges caused by inflation, and the current problems faced by the population "are fleeting," President Jair Bolsonaro said here on Saturday, defending his government's economic measures.
The Brazilian president also highlighted how his government had created an emergency aid program and a program that paid workers from companies that had suspended contracts or reduced wages during the most critical period of the pandemic in 2020.
The country's inflation index, the National Broad Consumer Price Index, stood at 0.67 percent of June, with a 11.89-percent cumulative change in the last 12 months, the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics said Friday.
The central bank has set an inflation target of 3.5 percent for 2022.
The 8.98-percent drop in fuel prices in the last three weeks was the result of a new law obliging states to reduce taxes destined to finance the education and health systems, said Bolsonaro.
Brazil's next presidential elections are scheduled for Oct. 2.
