72 help. We took advantage of these moments to listen to advice and suggestions”, he says. The state governor, Olívio Dutra, attended the opening of FIMMA 1999 accompanied by secretaries, the mayor of Bento Gonçalves, the mayors of regional towns, members of parliament, authorities and guests. The minister of transport, Eliseu Lemos Padilha, representing the president of the Brazil, delivered a letter from FH to leading players of the furniture industry and made himself available to forward their litigations. The entrepreneurs handed him a document with a series of vindications. At least three facts preceded the start of the trade fair: two weeks before the opening, the market received the news that the Monetary Policy Committee had risen the basic interest rate (SELIC) from 37.34% to 44.95%; on the 11th of March – five days before the opening of FIMMA, most of Brazil suffered the greatest blackout in national history, leaving almost 60 million people in the dark, in ten states of the south, south-east, centrewest and the Federal District; and, on the 16th, on the opening day, the media announced the fall of Encol, one of the largest developers of the country.
fimma 1999
*Centre of Traditions of Rio Grande do Sul