The name of the former president of the Central Bank and ex-Minister of Finance Henrique Meirelles is one of the most quoted to assume the Ministry of Economy from January 1st in the government of president-elect Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT).
Although the approval of Meirelles’ nomination is practically unanimous in the financial market, as a balance of moderation and commitment to fiscal responsibility in the PT’s team, not everyone believes that the former minister will have the autonomy to act as he would like.
“Meirelles is a person with a lot of experience and technical knowledge (…), but we can see that the intention is to have an empty chair”, said the partner and president of Forpus Capital, Luiz Nunes, in participation in the CNN debate this Thursday (3).
“Lula has already said that he will break the chair [do atual Ministério da Economia] in four positions, which leaves me with the impression that the government will want to borrow this reputation that Meirelles has and put him in a portfolio that will be a bit like a queen of England”, he added.
In his view, Meirelles’ technical and moderate profile should end up being overshadowed by a government built on political indications, and should not, therefore, be able to have much influence on the policies to be implemented – including the revision of the spending cap policy. , announced several times by Lula during the campaign.
For 4intelligence partner Juan Jensen, the former minister’s name has enough experience and weight to mark his place at the head of the economic team of the new PT government.
“Lula has said several times that he is going to revoke the spending cap; Meirelles is the father of the spending cap. Nothing better than Meirelles to lead and present a new fiscal anchor for the country”, said Jensen, remembering that it was during the Michel Temer government, in 2016, when Meirelles commanded the Treasury, that the fiscal rule was prepared and approved.
“The impression I have is that he only accepts the position if he has the power to take action, assemble a team and do what he believes has to be done. It was like that when he was president of the Central Bank for eight years with Lula and when he was minister with Temer,” he added.
Source: CNN Brasil
Joe Jameson, a technology journalist with over 2 years of experience, writes for top online news websites. Specializing in the field of technology, Joe provides insights into the latest advancements in the industry. Currently, he contributes to covering the world stock market.
