Brazil commits to austerity with social focus

Brasilia - Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff said on Tuesday her government is firmly committed to fiscal adjustment but will not sacrifice social programmes to balance its overdrawn public accounts.

"The government knows that the adjustment is fundamental for Brazil, but that does not mean that social policies will not be maintained," Rousseff said after extending for another four years a generous formula for calculating minimum wage increases.

"The best example is that we are today sending Congress legislation to increase the value of the minimum wage," she said.