BRASILIA, March 20 (Reuters) – Brazil’s new Finance Minister Dario Durigan said on Friday he will pursue “continuity” of the economic policies taken by his predecessor, Fernando Haddad, who has left the role to run for Sao Paulo state governor in the October elections.
Durigan, a former deputy for Haddad, told journalists in his first public remarks as minister that commitment to the efficiency of public finances and credit model improvement are among his priorities.
He also advocated for a stronger presence of Brazil’s Treasury in the international debt market, adding the country may issue sovereign bonds in European markets later this year.
Durigan, who was sworn in as minister earlier in the day, assumes the role at a time when the Brazilian government seeks to address the effects of rising diesel prices, as oil costs soar due to the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran.
The new minister added that the administration of President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, which last week cut federal taxes on diesel and had announced a subsidy for diesel imports, could take fresh measures depending on how the conflict evolves.
(Reporting by Bernardo Caram in Brasilia and Andre Romani in Sao Paulo, Editing by Iñigo Alexander)
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