Brazil leader hails law marking oil funds for services

Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff on Monday hailed the passage of a law that reserves the nation's oil royalties for education and health care as an "historic victory." Demand for greater government spending on schools, public health and transportation were at the heart of massive street protests that shook Brazil in June. In the first concrete response to the protests, Congress passed a law that reserves 75 percent of oil royalties for education and 25 percent for health care. About $800 million from the oil royalties is expected to flow into next year's budget for education and health as a result of the new law. Rousseff said royalties from the first of a series of new offshore oil fields, which are to be opened for bidding starting in October, could yield $150-300 billion in royalties over the next 35 years. "For me and my government education is the principal pillar to transform Brazil into a great nation, assuring that our people are freed from poverty," she said in her weekly radio address. The law, which awaits Rousseff's signature, was approved by the Senate in early July and passed by the lower house last week.