President says it is necessary for the government and politicians to encourage people to travel internally as well
President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) stated this Friday (April 26, 2024) that people need to get to know Brazil more instead of traveling abroad. At an event to deliver an Embraer plane to Azul, the PT member said that it is up to everyone in the government to encourage more regional aviation.
“Instead of us traveling to see the Louvre Museum in Paris, instead of us wanting to travel to Disney, which is very important, it was necessary for our people to get to know Brazil”he stated.
The president stated that it is necessary for young Brazilians to know the country’s biomes. He particularly praised the Amazon region, with Belém (PA) and its gastronomy. He also mentioned Alter do Chão, which is also in Pará.
“Because we don’t like Brazil, because we don’t visit Brazil, because we prefer to go abroad. We need to start changing, including the speeches of Embratur, the Ministry of Tourism, the President of the Republic, the president of Gol, the president of Embraer, the Minister of Finance”he stated.
According to Lula, the country needs more flights to cities with fewer inhabitants. To this end, the president defended the purchase of Embraer planes, which are smaller than those from competitors such as Airbus and Boeing.
“Me and the [Geraldo] Alckmin [vice-presidente] We made a commitment to talk to these people [empresas aéreas] and say the following: ‘Hey man, you want to travel with 20 hours of autonomy, that’s fine, you can buy another plane, but Brazil has almost 6,000 municipalities. Brazil has 27 capitals. Brazil has a city of 200 thousand inhabitants, 250, 300′”he stated.
More national airports
At the same ceremony, the Minister of Ports and Airports, Silvio Costa Filho, announced that there will be more airports in the North and Northeast regions.
“President Lula, in his government, will build 10 new airports. More than 25 airports in the North of the country, more than 20 new airports in the Northeast”he stated.
The Minister of Finance, Fernando Haddad, said that there will be incentives for regional aviation. The sector will have a different rate in the tax reform regulations. According to him, the text sent to Congress on Wednesday (24 April) will need changes.
“We are going to send suggestions to Congress so that regional aviation, which has a different tax rate in the constitutional amendment and, therefore, has an additional stimulus, becomes part of Brazilians’ daily lives”declared Haddad.
