Brazil gov't says it can't pay December rent, bills of ministries

BRASILIA, Nov 30 (Reuters) - Brazil's federal government will not be able to pay the December rent, water and electricity bills of its ministries in Brasilia until Congress approves a change in the primary fiscal savings target for this year, Dyogo Oliveira, the executive secretary of the Planning ministry, told reporters on Monday.

President Dilma Rousseff on Friday ordered a budget freeze of 10 billion reais ($2.60 billion) to comply with Brazil's fiscal responsibility law after Congress, delaying passage of a bill last week to cut the cash-strapped government's fiscal target for 2015. By law, the government has to contain expenditures to meet the original fiscal savings goal.

Oliveira said the government hopes the new goal will be approved by Congress this week and the spending cuts that went into effect on Monday will be reversed.

(Reporting by Anthony Boadle; Editing by Alan Crosby)

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