A rise in interest rates is one of the risks we established in our economic and budgetary forecasts. We do not see interest rates rising in the short or medium term. That should not happen before the end of 2023 or 2024. Basically, any rise in interest rates will be modest.
We are never free from turbulence. We saw that in February and March 2020. Unpleasant shocks and surprises can occur. We are not sheltered from a financial shock that could happen elsewhere on the planet and that would cause interest rates to rise. If that did happen, funding the debt would cost much more. But that is not on anyone's radar.
Certainly, a deficit like the one we are forecasting for the current year cannot be repeated for a number of consecutive years without putting the federal government's financial viability into peril or without medium- and long-term financial consequences.