Gov Agency – President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and a good part of his ministry ended the week on a tour of the city of São José dos Campos (SP), visiting the Aeronautical Technological Institute (ITA) and Embraer.
The main reasons for the visit were the delivery to Azul airline of the first of 13 aircraft manufactured by Embraer, to order, a batch that represents investments of R$ 13 billion, and the beginning of works to expand and modernize the ITA.
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These activities last Friday (26) concluded a week of positive results for the Lula government. As a symbolic addition, it inserted the persona of the president and his government into a scenario that mixes high technology, high-standard education, job creation, the presence of the State as a driver of growth and, finally, the idea of flying. To complete the image of success – which was what the government wanted to convey – Lula also wore an airplane captain’s cap during a ceremony held in a modern, well-lit Embraer hangar.
During his visit to São José dos Campos, Lula first completed an agenda at ITA. There, the president participated in the inauguration of Block I of the H8 student accommodation, part of the project to expand ITA’s training capacity. The new facility, for 80 students, is part of the Institute’s expansion project. In January of this year, the federal government had laid the cornerstone of the first ITA campus in the Northeast, in Fortaleza (CE). ITA Nordeste will have its first entrance exam later this year and will select 50 students. There will be 25 places for Energy Engineering and Systems Engineering courses.
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Created in 1950, ITA is considered a reference center for engineering education in Brazil. It is a public university institution, linked to the Aeronautics Command and specialized in the areas of science and technology in the aerospace sector, with undergraduate and postgraduate courses. During the visit, in addition to talking to military personnel, Lula invested time talking to students. On his social networks, he displayed some of the dialogues, always with the emphasis on success and a promising future.
Get to know Brazil
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At Embraer, together with First Lady Janja Lula da Silva, he christened the aircraft acquired by Azul, an E195-E2 jet, with capacity to transport up to 136 passengers and a range of 4,800 kilometers. With the batch of 13 devices it ordered, Azul will invest R$13 billion. According to the manufacturer, the model has the technology to operate both in larger airports and regional airfields, with smaller airport infrastructure.
These characteristics of the Embraer project were Lula’s key to defending greater investments in the Brazilian tourist structure. Before him, the presidents of Azul, John Rodgerson, and Embraer, Francisco Gomes Neto, had highlighted the versatility of the planes produced in São José dos Campos, suitable for a project to increase the country’s interconnection by air.
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Lula commented on a trip he took to Alter do Chão, in Pará, which he classified as “the most beautiful city in the world”. However, according to him, without good access and accommodation infrastructure, places like that fail to attract more tourists. “Instead of us wanting to travel to see the Louvre museum in Paris, instead of us wanting to travel to Disney, our people need to get to know Brazil.”
The Minister of Ports and Airports, Silvio Costa Filho, highlighted that the expansion of Azul’s fleet will contribute to the country’s tourism, boosting the economy and generating jobs and income. “For every four tourists that arrive in a city in Brazil, we are talking about one job that is created in the country”, he mentioned.
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Costa Filho also highlighted that “at the end of the first year of President Lula’s government, we had more than 112 million passengers transported. In just one year, we had a 15% growth in the country’s aviation. I have no doubt that by the end of the president’s four years we will reach 140 million people traveling across our country.”
On the wings of Embraer
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For the Minister of Finance, Fernando Haddad, the ITA-Embraer partnership is evidence that Brazil can occupy special spaces in the international market. “Embraer produces something that impresses the world, it shows that Brazilians are capable of adding value to production, of adding knowledge. ITA is right next door. This ecosystem that was set up here in São José dos Campos ended up generating so much wealth and so much hope for Brazil. And it’s great to see that this region of the state of São Paulo is experiencing better days again.”
Mentioning a visit he made to the region during his campaign for the government of the State of São Paulo, in 2022, Haddad commented: “The discouragement was very great. Since President Lula assumed the Presidency, the situation has changed and will change much more,” he said.
Vice-president and Minister of Development, Industry, Commerce and Services, Geraldo Alckmin recalled that part of his childhood was spent in that region. Born in Pindamonhangaba, the city of which he was mayor in the 1970s, Alckmin said he believes that the example of the São José dos Campos technology hub can be replicated in other regions of the country.
“We are in the most industrialized region in the world. And the Nova Indústria Brasil, which President Lula launched, is exactly for us to strengthen the industry, generating more jobs and more income. And here is an example of an innovative industry, at the forefront of engineering and innovation”, stated the vice president. Using the idea of flying, the vice-president made a prediction: “I am sure that on the wings of Azul and Embraer the best dreams of an innovative and industrialized country will fly, with opportunities and jobs for all Brazilians”.
The visit to ITA and Embraer was also attended by ministers Camilo Santana (Education), Luciana Santos (Science, Technology and Innovation), Paulo Teixeira (Agrarian Development and Family Farming), Alexandre Padilha (Institutional Relations), General Marcos Antonio Amaro dos Santos (Institutional Security Office), in addition to the Air Force commander, air lieutenant brigadier, Marcelo Kanitz Damasceno.
Good week
The visit closed a week in which the government had already accumulated good results, presented to public opinion in the form of research, enactment of laws and announcements of new projects.
One of these results, the strong reduction in hunger in Brazil after the first year of government, was announced on Thursday (25). According to research carried out by IBGE, more than 24 million people will have adequate nutrition in 2023. That same day, Lula and ministers attended the celebration of Embrapa’s 51st anniversary, another successful state initiative.
The party held by Embrapa, a company specializing in the production of agricultural technology, allowed Lula to associate research and science with the fight against hunger: “Embrapa means food production, food production means ending hunger in this country”.
The week was also marked by the continued deceleration of inflation rates. The April IPCA was 0.21% in April, lower than expected, according to IBGE. In terms of new projects, Lula inaugurated, on the 25th, the first Brazilian insulin factory, in Nova Lima, Minas Gerais, which will make the country self-sufficient in this type of input.
Also on Thursday, when receiving representatives of indigenous peoples, who organized the Terra Livre Camp, in Brasília, the president announced new land demarcations for these populations. On the same day, a law was sanctioned, authored by deputy Iza Arruda (MDB-PE), which makes the construction and maintenance of a safe and private space mandatory, throughout the SUS network, for women victims of violence, the so-called Lilás Room. 500 new Basic Health Units (UBS) are already planned to be under construction, informed the Minister of Health, Nísia Trindade, during the ceremony. Nísia stated that the other units will be adapted to the requirements.
Still at Embraer, a speech by Lula can summarize how he evaluated the last week: “If we dream small, we won’t even remember our dream in the morning. Great things are the result of a lot of courage.”
