Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said Monday the worst effects of the international financial crisis in his country have already passed, as the contraction of the economy in the first quarter of 2009 was not as severe as the one registered in the fourth quarter of 2008.

The Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE) announced last week that Brazil's economy shrank 0.8 percent in the first three months of this year, down from 3.6 percent in the previous quarter. The result, though negative, was not as bad as expected by the government and the market.

"The important thing is that the worst has passed and the Brazilian economy is giving signs of recovery," Lula said in his weekly radio show "Breakfast with the President."

The president remained optimistic, saying that Brazil was the last country to succumb to the effects of the crisis and will be the first to overcome them. He said that the GDP fall in the first quarter was due to some sectors in the industry undergoing a production decrease in the period, and added that the consumption and the governmental investments avoided a sharper fall.

Source:Xinhua