Brazil raises government expenses in 2018 budget

RIO DE JANEIRO, Oct. 30 (Xinhua) -- The Brazilian government on Monday modified the 2018 budget and raised government expenses by 44.5 billion reais (13.56 billion U.S. dollars).

According to Minister of Planning, Development and Budget Dyogo Oliveira, the raise is mostly due to an increase in the estimates for spending on the minimum income project Bolsa Familia and the Growth Acceleration Program (PAC) that features construction projects all over the country.

"There was an increase of 2.4 billion reais (731 million dollars) in the mandatory expenses for Bolsa Familia, and the PAC is growing by 24 billion reais (7.3 billion dollars)," Oliveira said.

The new budget complies with the spending cap approved last year in the country, he added.