Brazilian president promises to distribute federal funds to all states

Brazil's President Dilma Rousseff Friday said federal funds should be distributed to all states, irrespective of their political affiliations. She stressed the distribution of federal resources must be made in a democratic manner, without considering political allegiance or party affiliation. "I am very proud of having maintained in the presidency this democratic behavior, in which one takes into account the importance of states and municipalities," she said. Rousseff made the remarks in her hometown of Belo Horizonte, in Minas Gerais state, whose governor belongs to an opposition political party and where she announced the release of 2.5 billion reals (about 1 billion U.S. dollars) in federal funds to support local urban transportation projects. During her speech, Rousseff also called for greater cooperation between the federal government and local and state administrations.