• Live
    • Audio Only
  • google plus
  • facebook
  • twitter
News > Latin America

Poor People Should Eat Every Two Days, Says Brazil Coup Senator

  • A woman looks on prices at a food market in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Jan. 21, 2016

    A woman looks on prices at a food market in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Jan. 21, 2016 | Photo: Reuters

Published 25 November 2016
Opinion

The legislator said the measure will improve inflation rates in Brazil and keep food prices low.

A Brazilian legislator from President Michel Temer’s party said Friday that poor people should eat less in order to keep the price of food lower in popular diners throughout the country, sparking outrage among critics.

RELATED:
Mass Protests in Brazil Against Neoliberal Austerity

Pedro Fernandes, a representative of the PMDB party to the Lower House, said the cost of a basic meal in "popular diners," which attract those from the poorer sectors of Brazilian society due to the cheap prices, should increase from two reales (US$0.60) to five reales (US$1,50).

As the country deals with the austerity measures implemented by the Temer administration, many restaurants in Rio de Janeiro and elsewhere are having issues in economically sustaining themselves. 

The suggestion, according to Fernandes, is for those who cannot afford to eat to change how frequently they eat. "We can’t sit still and let people be hungry,” Fernandes is reported to have told newspaper Extra.

“If we can’t reach the ideal situation of keeping the price of two reales, let's set a price that allows them to at least eat every other day."

"I don’t know if what I’m saying is absurd, but we have to think about it," added the legislator.

Carlos Minc, a legislator from the Worker’s Party, or PT, said this intervention was very “unfortunate.”

"Eating every two days condemns people in diners to hunger. Closing them is cruel and does not solve the crisis," Minc said on his Twitter account.

“Eleven diners have already closed, I’m looking for alternatives," retorted Fernandes.

Comment
0
Comments
Post with no comments.