As many economists have pointed out, it seems more likely that the demand for budget surpluses (size yet to be specified) will slow recovery further and make the financial targets seem like wishful thinking.
Brazil has not registered a budget surplus of that size for several years.
Ms. Lustig said her accountants had recommended maintaining a surplus of that size.
"On the surface," the board said in a report, "a surplus of this size suggests that the city is in sound fiscal health.
If you have a surplus of this size you either have to revalue your currency or, if you can't do that because of the euro, you have to find other ways of reducing it".
It has limited spending and moved to increase revenues, a classic prescription when an economy is ailing, and has built up a surplus twice the size of what the fund had asked before negotiations were put on hold several months ago.
In truth, the only modern president who cut taxes for the middle class, balanced the budget, created a surplus, cut the size of government, reformed welfare, created jobs, and presided over the nation during a time of unprecedented peace and prosperity was a Democrat, President Bill Clinton.
Over the past decade they have racked up surpluses approaching the size of the combined GDP of all 19 Arab states, $2.9 trillion.
Surpluses of varying size were projected for the next three years.Even better, the provisional budget he unveiled did not, for the first time in years, take an axe to public services.
It was the smallest surplus (relative to the size of China's economy) since 2002.
But it is the change in a country's surplus, not its absolute size, which adds to its growth.
