This was expressed during the inauguration ceremony at the head of the BNDES, the main development institution in Latin America, of its former minister and economist Aloizio Mercadante.
Within this framework, he defended public banking as an engine for development and growth, although he said that the economy is “threatened” by the Central Bank’s policy.
The leader of the Workers’ Party directly criticized the Central Bank chaired by Bolsonaro Roberto Campos Neto and who will remain in office until 2024 under a law approved by Congress that grants the monetary authority “independence” from elected governments .
Lula da Silva had said last Friday in a television interview that the 13.5% interest rate “slowed down growth” and that it did not respond to the fight against inflation.
Appeal
Addressing the Federation of Industries of the State of São Paulo (FIESP), the most powerful business entity in Brazil, the president stated that businessmen “need to learn to complain.”
“When the Central Bank was dependent on the Government, they protested and now that it is not, they do not protest against a rate that prevents them from taking loans and slows down growth. If the business class does not demonstrate against the interest rate, they are not going to lower the rate,” he assured. On the other hand, the head of state assured that the assault on the powers that be on January 8 in Brasilia was a “revolt of the rich.”
“What happened was a revolt by the rich who lost the elections. We cannot play because one day the poor people may get tired of being poor and decide to change things. I won the elections to change and if we disappoint this town, I think ‘what will become of the country’. The country cannot be governed by the few, but by the vast majority, ”Lula assured in one of the most fiery speeches against the Central Bank that he inherited from the administration of Jair Bolsonaro (2019-2022).
Strain
After the Central decided last Wednesday to maintain the reference rate at 13.75%, an invariable level since August 2022, due to a scenario of “uncertainty” and inflationary pressures, the Government expressed its annoyance. This, in turn, worried the market about the possibility of going backwards with the independence of the monetary authority.
In its first meeting of the year and under the new government of the leftist, the entity’s Monetary Policy Committee left the Selic rate unchanged for the fourth consecutive time, in line with market expectations.
“The external environment continues to be marked by the prospect of global growth below potential next year, high volatility in financial assets and a pressured inflationary environment,” Copom said in its statement.
At the domestic level, he points out “high uncertainty about the future of the country’s fiscal framework and fiscal stimuli.”
Given this, Lula da Silva reacted by asking himself “I want to know what independence was for.” “I will wait for this citizen to finish his term so that we can make an evaluation of what the independent central bank has meant,” she said in an interview with RedeTV in reference to Campos Neto.
When asked if there could be a change in relation to the autonomy of the entity, the President of the Republic confirmed.
“I think it could, but I want to say that this is irrelevant to me. This is irrelevant, it is not on my agenda. What is on the agenda is the question of the interest rate, ”she said, criticizing what he described as a search by the Central Bank commanders for a“ European standard ”interest rate.
Source: Ambito
