(Bloomberg) -- Brazil President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva returned to work Monday after nearly a week in the hospital, as his government rushes to win congressional approval for a package of spending cuts before the end of the year.
The leftist leader, who had emergency brain surgery and a follow-up procedure last week, met with Finance Minister Fernando Haddad about the plans in Sao Paulo, where he is set to keep a light schedule and work from home until Thursday after a new CT scan.
The 79-year-old Lula’s hospitalization raised questions about whether he would be healthy enough to continue leading Latin America’s largest economy, and came at a tenuous time for a government that is facing mounting investor concerns about public spending and the country’s fiscal deficits.
Its plan to cut expenses by 70 billion reais ($11.6 billion) has done little to alleviate those fears. The Brazilian real has plunged to record lows against the dollar since the proposals were unveiled last month, and investor anxiety over the measures led the central bank to intervene in currency markets last week and again Monday morning.
Lula brushed off the concerns Sunday night, saying in a television interview that the country’s chief problem is high interest rates. The central bank hiked the benchmark Selic a full percentage point to 12.25% last week while pledging two similar increases by March as it fights to tame rising inflation.
Haddad stressed to Lula that the government needs to press Congress to hold votes on the fiscal plan this week before lawmakers go on recess through the end of the year, the finance minister told reporters after the meeting.
He added that the president wants to prevent the legislature from watering down the proposals amid concerns that it will soften changes to some social welfare programs.
Lula’s doctors have said he is recovering well from the initial operation that sought to address problems resulting from a head injury he suffered after a fall in October. He made a surprise appearance at a press conference Sunday as his doctors provided another update, wearing a hat to hide the bandages on his head.
“I was surprised by the president’s health,” Haddad said Monday. “He led the meeting normally, without any complaints of pain.”
Lula was originally scheduled to attend a breakfast with reporters in the capital, Brasilia, on Tuesday, and hold a cabinet meeting Thursday. His team is now reorganizing his agenda, with the ministerial meeting likely to take place either Friday or next Monday.
He is aiming to return to Brasilia later this week, and wants to spend the Christmas and New Year’s holidays in his home. But his agenda ultimately depends on medical exams and recommendations from his doctors, Haddad said.
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