(UPDATE) BRAZIL: Candidate Ciro Gomes Defends Tax On Financial Transactions

(RTTNews) - Ciro Gomes, the only Brazilian presidential candidate to show increasing popularity among voters in a recent survey, said that he could reinstate a tax on financial transactions - the so-called CPMF - but only to large operations.

During an interview to Folha, Uol, and SBT, three media firms from Brazil, Gomes said that the tax would only apply to large-scale financial transactions.

"For now there is no proposal regarding CPMF. There is a lot of people suggesting taxes on large financial transactions. I am listening, and I will listen with a lot of respect. In this country, it is the middle and the lower classes who pay taxes," he added.

Gomes also said that, if he wins the presidential election, he will undo both the spending limit and the labor market reform passed during the current administration. According to him, the spending freeze is cutting expenditure on health and education, while less relevant areas operate with no budgetary restriction - financial expenses, for example.

Gomes is a presidential candidate representing the PDT party, but seeks to form a center-left coalition with PSB and PCdoB.

"My project has to be upgraded with a center-left alliance to include the interests of those who work," he said.

He added that the contender that would be most easy to beat in the Brazilian presidential race is Jair Bolsonaro, who currently leads has the highest voter support, according to surveys.

"Bolsonaro is a grave threat to the country, besides being an authoritarian and having no experience whatsoever to manage Brazil," he said.