Rousseff says crisis not to paralyze Brazil

Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff said Tuesday her country is experiencing economic difficulties, but is not paralyzed by the crisis as some have claimed.

The president said during a business event in Sao Paulo that the country's economic fundamentals remained solid.

"Brazil is going through a difficult moment, more difficult than what we had in recent years, but we are not near a crisis as big as some say we are having," she said.

The government would do everything possible to ensure an economic recovery by the end of the year, including the upcoming announcement of a third phase of its flagship Growth Acceleration Program (PAC) and new infrastructure concessions.

Besides a tough economic scenario, the president is also facing a hostile political environment.

Rousseff's approval rate plummeted at the beginning of her second term as investigation into a large bribery and money laundering scheme in Brazil's oil giant Petrobras went on. An increasing number of people were accused of involvement in the scheme.

Investigations revealed corruption was rampant in Petrobras, putting Rousseff in a difficult position, as she was part of the company's administrative board and previously acted as the minister of mines and energy.

Citizens who disapprove of her government protested by honking and banging pots and pans on Sunday when she delivered a speech on TV.

Brazil fell into a technical recession in the first half of 2014 and registered a growth rate of only 0.1 percent in the third quarter. The annual GDP growth rate is expected to be announced in late March, but perspectives are not positive. Endi