Brazil's Lula gives go-ahead on review of social benefits, says minister

BRASILIA (Reuters) - Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has authorized a review to reduce social welfare benefits to meet the 2025 fiscal target, Finance Minister Fernando Haddad said on Thursday after a cabinet meeting.

Earlier in July, the government announced it would cut 25.9 billion reais ($4.67 billion) in government spending through greater scrutiny of social welfare programs to remove people who are ineligible for benefits.

Haddad told reporters that measures to implement this review should be supported by legal changes via a bill or executive order.

They should also be included in the report by Senator Jaques Wagner, the government leader in the Upper House, on a bill about tax exemptions on companies and municipal payrolls, he added.

($1 = 5.5435 reais)

(Reporting by Marcela Ayres; Editing by Richard Chang)