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Brazilian State Governor of Goiás visit to New Zealand

Wed, 17 Feb, 2016 5:00 PM — 7:00 PM
Brazilian Embassy, 10 Customhouse Quay, Wellington

On February 17, the Ambassador of Brazil, HE Eduardo Gradilone, hosted a presentation at the Brazilian Embassy given by the Governor of Goiás, Marconi Perillo, during his first visit to New Zealand. The presentation was co-hosted with LANZBC and the Wellington Chamber of Commerce.

In October 2010 he was elected State Governor for a third time and, last October was again re-elected State Governor of Goiás for a fourth-time.

In his presentation, Governor Perillo was forthright in acknowledging Brazil’s challenging economic and political position but was at pains to stress that this is a temporary situation, arguing that the long-term fundamentals were good for this country because of its abundant resources. He was particularly positive about the future for Goiás which he described as the ‘best investment option’ in Brazil.

The State of Goiás is located in the geographic centre of Brazil. Its population of 6.1 million generates a combined GDP of US$46 billion. The Governor noted that the state’s GNP had grown 10 times in 16 years and holds the nation’s best job creation record. Goiás is the second largest producer of Ethanol in the country and is one of the largest producers of hydroelectric power and potential producers of solar energy.

The Governor emphasised the state’s central location as a key production and distribution hub for Brazil which is strategically close to the seat of political power. Brasilia, the federal capital, is located within within the Goiàs’ geographical boundary (within the Distrito Federal).

Mr Perillo has proven to be a remarkably popular and resilient leader. He was first elected Governor of Goiás in 1998 and subsequently re-elected in 2003. He was elected as Senator by the State of Goiás in 2006 with the biggest percentage of votes per state for the Senate House in Brasilia.

Among his numerous achievements, is the introduction of ‘Vapt Vupt’, a place that gathers most of government services to enable citizens to solve issues quickly and expeditiously; ‘Programa Produzir’ a programme to attract new companies to the state; and the implementation of a system of fiscal policy that has led to the reduction of taxes.

Presentation by Governor of Goiás
pdf 4.4 MB