II. THE GOVERNMENT ACTIONS

 

II.2 Promoting Regional and Sectorial Investments

The second group of actions is related to the policy of investments of regional and/or sectorial destination. The objective is to identify sectors/regions that can generate jobs and mobilize the national and foreign savings for those activities. Through a policy of investments in economic and social infrastrucuture and in productive activities, the intention is to stimulate the economy's growth and, consequently, expand employment opportunities.

For the micro and small productive enterprises, the Federal Government is developing the Programa de Geração de Emprego e Renda — Proger (Employment and Income Growth Program), that uses resources from the Fundo de Amparo ao Trabalhador — FAT (Workers' Assistance Fund) in financings made by means of the Bank of Brazil (BB), the Bank of the Northeast (BNB), the Brazilian Savings and Loans Bank (Caixa Econômica Federal — CEF) and the National Bank of Economic and Social Development (BNDES). From its beginning (1995) until December 1996, BB, BNB, CEF and BNDES have signed agreements in the amount of R$ 2.47 billion, of which R$ 2.25 billion were applied both in urban and rural projects. Chart 1 shows that, until that month, 325,859 credit operations were accomplished. In 1997, a growth in these applications is foreseen, since resources return and are reapplied in new financings.

Table 1
Employment and Income Generation Program
(Programa de Geração de Emprego e Renda — Proger)

Position: Jan/95 to Dec/96 (1)
Nominal Values (2)
12.31.96

Financial agent	Program	Value of the covenant R$ million	Amount invested (contracted) R$ thousand	Number ofoperations
BNB	Proger	130	152,146	20,675
	Proger 2nd phase	130	139,818	16,180
	Proger 3rd phase	210	128,745	12,042
	RuralProger	20	30,195	5,758
	Pronaf	50	9,076	4,188
BB	Proger	130	160,991	9,226
	Proger 2nd phase (3)	130	30,249	1,843
	RuralProger (6)	625	1,265,285	176,348
	Pronaf (4)(6)	360	318,185	75,042
	Procera	50	18,505	4,557
CEF	Proger	130
BNDES	Pronaf	350
	Productivepopularcredit	150
TOTALS		2,470	2,253,195	325,859

(1) Accumulated value from January to December/95, added to the workers contracted each month, January to December/96.(2) These values are updated by Selic (R$ in the bank's safe) and TJLP (R$ invested). Because of the financial application, the value contracted by BNB can excel the value agreed to initially.(3) Beginning in October/96.(4) Contracted by force of the Covenant BB/Banrisul. 60,000 operations in the amount of R$ 24 million (included in the contracted value) from May to June in the RS. These 60,000 operations are not included in the number of operations contracted by the Pronaf.(5) Resolution Codefat no. 131 transferred R$ 80 million from the Rural Proger to Proger and allocated an additional R$ 130 million to Proger, totaling R$ 210 million.(6) Resolution Codefat no. 133 allocated R$ 100 million to Pronaf and R$ 50 million to Rural Proger in the Bank of Brazil.

For investments of a larger scale, the Federal Government is implementing the Programa de Expansão do Emprego e Melhoria de Qualidade de Vida do Trabalhador — Proemprego (Expansion of the Employment and Improvement of the Worker's Life Quality Program). The resources of the FAT will contribute to the constitution of a R$ 6 billion fund, to be managed by the National Bank for Economic and Social Development (BNDES), provenient from the FAT (R$ 3.5 billion) and the BNDES (R$ 2.5 billion). To these resources will be added another R$ 3.0 billion in the form of a counterpart. All these resources will be invested until 1998.

The Proemprego shall contribute significantly to the improvement of the country's physical and social infrastructure systems. Its most immediate impact, however, will be the growth of an expressive volume of new jobs, direct and indirect, starting already with the phase of implementation of the projects.

Another important aspect of the Proemprego is the fact that public and private investments are complementary. The tourist segment is a remarkable example of this conjugation of efforts. The public sector, particularly in the northeastern region, will be in charge of the capital investments in infrastructure and basic services capable of attracting and levering private investments in the tourist sector — sanitation, solid debris disposition, historical patrimony recuperation, environmental protection and improvement of urban routes and highways.

Beyond this, the Proemprego investments will contribute, simultaneously, to the improvement of the urban populations' life quality, specially of the lower income groups, as a function of the sanitation and mass transportation projects, as well as to the reduction of the "Brazil Cost" ("Custo Brasil"), by means of projects of expansion and modern-ization of the cargo transportation logistics.

The investments in infrastructure will also lead to a reduction in the "Brazil Cost". The BNDES will offer credit, under special conditions, to enterprises that incorporate, in their projects, greater requisites of employment per fixed capital unit.