Lara Resende, Arida and Mello should form Lula’s economic transition team

Two of the economists who created the Real Plan, Persio Arida and André Lara Resende, were approached and are expected to coordinate President-elect Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s (PT) transition team.

The coordination trio will also be composed of economist Guilherme Mello, linked to the Workers’ Party and former minister Aloizio Mercadante. The information was revealed by the newspaper O Estado de S. Paulo and confirmed by the CNN .

Sources linked to Lara Resende and Mello confirmed the survey and said they intend to accept it. Arida is still in doubt, but there is great expectation in the transition team for him to accept the invitation made by the vice president, Geraldo Alckmin.

The decision on the approximately 50 names that make up the transition will be taken on Monday by Lula and Alckmin. The choice of Arida and Lara Resede should be received by the market as a sign of commitment to fiscal responsibility.

On Tuesday, Alckmin committed to handing over to Senator Marcelo Castro what the new government intends to include in the so-called transitional PEC, which would exclude programs from the spending cap. The expectation is already between R$ 100 billion and R$ 200 billion.

Arida, Lara Resende and other economists historically linked to the PSDB, such as Pedro Malan and Armínio Fraga declared their vote for Lula and campaigned actively in the second round. They argued that they defended democracy and repudiated the policies of President Jair Bolsonaro.