President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva argued, this Thursday (11), that public policies promoted by the State should reach the poorest, wherever they are. He participated in the opening of the Federal Caravan in Belo Horizonte, an initiative of the federal government to provide services needed by municipalities. 
“We must be outraged by inequalities,” said the president. Lula explained that the goal of the caravan is to integrate services from different levels of government. He gave the example of how mayors should request that these actions reach where they are most needed.
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“We have the structure to find people and take care of them. And that’s what we’re doing,” Lula assured.
The president argued that the caravan is necessary because public policy must reach the people. “We can’t wait for someone who has no teeth in the Jequitinhonha Valley, in the Mucuri Valley, to have time to take a shower, leave their house, and go to the city to see a dentist,” he argued.
Radiotherapy center
The Minister of Health, Alexandre Padilha, also at the event, drew attention to the importance of the inauguration of another radiotherapy center in the city of Itabira (MG), which will expand the offer of cancer treatment in the Unified Health System (SUS) this Thursday (11). The unit was financed by the federal government, through the New PAC.
The investment in the radiotherapy unit at Hospital Nossa Senhora das Dores totaled R$ 13.9 million, including construction and equipment. The centers are equipped with a linear accelerator and other cutting-edge technologies for cancer treatment.
Centers were also inaugurated at the University Hospital of the Federal University of Goiás (Goiânia); at the Tarquínio Lopes Filho General Hospital (São Luís – MA); at the Santa Casa de Misericórdia de Marília (SP); and at the São José Maternity Hospital (Colatina – ES). Together, these investments exceed R$ 53.7 million.
The minister said that the state will also have a mobile unit to perform CT scans to resolve problems with waiting lists for examinations. The women’s health mobile unit will offer ultrasound, cervical cancer screening, mammography, and cancer biopsies.
He also highlighted the delivery of 32 new oral health units. “Now the mobile unit will go to rural areas and even to the outskirts of the city,” he emphasized.
At the event, the Minister of Institutional Relations, Gleisi Hoffmann, said that the caravan is an interministerial policy. “No one governs alone, we need to help each other to govern Brazil (…) regardless of political party or position, we have a commitment to the population and we have to deliver on these promises.”
Actions
In Minas Gerais, according to the federal government, the initiative will offer assistance and technical support through the offices of ministries and federal agencies, in addition to thematic workshops aimed at training municipal and state managers.
Dialogues are planned, promoted by different ministries, including government programs and structuring projects for the state, the participation of women in positions of power, and federal actions to redress the environmental crime in the Rio Doce basin and on the northern coast of Espírito Santo.
The caravan, since 2023, has visited the states of Bahia, Rio de Janeiro, Rio Grande do Sul, Tocantins, Maranhão, Ceará, Paraíba, Pernambuco, Amapá, Piauí, and Pará.
Poor in the budget
President Lula argued that the poor are usually treated as if they were “invisible.” He criticized the fact that in the preparation of the federal budget, the poor “don’t appear” because there is already a structure in place to distribute resources. “We had to start changing some patterns,” Lula stated.
At the event, Lula also expressed concern about the tension between Venezuela and the United States. He said he told US President Donald Trump that he does not want a war in Latin America.
“I said that I believe more in the power of words than in the power of weapons.”
Once again, the president also condemned the cases of violence against women and femicides in the country. “If we don’t change our education process, it’s no use making laws increasing penalties, creating the death penalty. It’s no use increasing it to 80 years.”
