Lula da Silva’s favorite former minister gave a pessimistic analysis of a possible Workers’ Party (PT, left) government and said President Jair Bolsonaro still has a chance to win the election.
Former Economy Minister and former Central Bank of Brazil president Henrique Meirelles has been asked as the front-runner to return to the Treasury if Lula da Silva wins the election.
Meirelles, considered a moderate and who managed to keep the Brazilian economy inflation-free during da Silva’s first term from his top position at the Central Bank, has been extremely close to the former president in recent weeks, with fierce attacks on Bolsonaro.
However, on October 19, in a joint conference with Europa Group, Temer’s former minister and leader of the center-left Social Democratic Party (PSD) said that da Silva’s economic plan does not appeal to him and that “it is bad news. sorry that he is returning to power”.
According to Meirelles, there were three different PT governments: the first, from 2003 to 2007, with fiscal responsibility; the second, from 2007 to 2011, with fiscal relief and more open to social demands; and the third, from 2011 to 2015, which failed and ended in recession.
“The big question is who will take over from Lula da Silva if he wins.” I say it depends. If you take his current program of government, it would be bad news,” he condemned.
“The elections are very close at the moment. Lula da Silva’s chances are greater, but I still believe that President Jair Bolsonaro has a real chance to win,” the former minister bet.
“Especially because the program was developed by a group of economists who strongly believe in the role of the state and state enterprises in promoting development.
“This vision prevails at the moment,” he analyzed, comparing da Silva’s current program to the government of former president Dilma Rousseff.
In the lecture he gave to a group of consultants, he was asked whether Lula da Silva could be forced to make a more fiscally responsible government, given that Congress had been left in the hands of the right wing. His answer was deadly: “No.”
“My answer to whether he would become more conservative because of the Congress results is no,” predicted the former minister.
And he added that he is concerned that Lula da Silva has yet to announce any of his economic plans or the names who will lead the economy before the election, hinting that perhaps his appointment has not been fully confirmed.
Meirelles’ career has been full of ups and downs. During his presidency of the Central Bank between 2003 and 2010, he maintained monetary stability.
However, he left the post after strong clashes with Lula da Silva who wanted to activate the banknote printing machine.
He then returned as Economy Minister during Michel Temer’s presidency to enact liberal reforms, although he later criticized the same measures he took when they came from Bolsonaro’s team.
Most recently he was Secretary of Finance to the infamous governor of São Paulo, João Doria, who had to resign amid corruption scandals.
After the conversation that should have remained in the private sphere, the former minister had to come out to correct his statements after a correction from da Silva’s campaign.
In a no-nonsense post, Meirelles defended his support for Lula da Silva.
“In conversations with investors, I reiterate that, in my opinion, an eventual government of Lula da Silva will prioritize fiscal and social responsibilities among the alternatives proposed by various groups of economists. Other interpretations of my statements are pure noise,” he wrote on Twitter.
It is a contradiction to say that a government will prioritize fiscal responsibilities and social responsibilities. The first requires a reduction in spending and the second an increase.
This inconsistent statement by an experienced career economist indicates that the publication may have been written by a political adviser rather than an economic one.
With information from Derecha Diario
