Rousseff's re-election vote of confidence in economy: Brazilian finance chief

Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff's re-election to a second term is a vote of confidence in the country's economic outlook, outgoing Finance Minister Guido Mantega said Monday.

"I'm pleased with the outcome of the elections," Mantega told reporters at a press conference. "It proves that the people approve of our economic policy."

Still, in a nod to the nearly 50 percent of the electorate that voted for the opposition, Mantega said the government will work over the next four years to bolster the country's economic foundations, bring down inflation, generate jobs, and expand the domestic market.

"To maintain employment, we have to maintain investment incentives and strengthen Brazilian companies by expanding the capital market," Mantega said.

The government has to promote a solid financial system, " because that is what finances the expansion of the economy and of consumption," he said.

Mantega announced that he would step down as finance minister in the next administration for personal reasons. However, political observers said Rousseff's slim margin of victory over her pro-business rival forced her to make concessions to the private sector, among them Mantega's removal.

According to the latest economic growth forecasts from the financial markets, Brazil's gross domestic product will register scant growth this year of 0.27 percent.

Rousseff won the runoff by 51.6 percent of the votes, while her closest rival Aecio Neves, of the Social Democracy Party, garnered 48.4 percent, the tightest race in Brazil in nearly 30 years. Enditem