Brazil Steel Institute (IABr), the local steel association, is upbeat about the rebound of the local steel sector in the year to come, despite uncertainties over upcoming presidential elections in October, top executives said on Tuesday during the Brazil Steel Congress, held from 21-22 August in Sao Paulo.
“We’re confident we will resume growing economically (as a country), no matter who takes the office,” said Sergio Leite, who has been appointed president for the entity’s directing council. Leite is also CEO at flats steelmaker Usiminas.
“We anticipate a new economic cycle for Brazil,” he said, while talking to reporters in a press conference on Tuesday.
The political scenario in Brazil remains uncertain. Left-wing candidate and former Brazilian president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva is in jail but decided to register to run for office. “Lula,” as he is commonly known, has ranked at the top of recent polls, followed by extreme right candidate Jair Bolsonaro, who has been labeled by local media as the “Brazilian Trump.”
Brazil has currently 13 candidates registered to run for president. Other known candidates include Geraldo Alckimin, Marina Silva and Ciro Gomes.
“We want the industry to be the focus once again,” said Marco Polo, president at IABr.
“The industry represented once about 25 percent of the Brazil’s GDP. Now it reaches about 10 to 11 percent,” said Leite.