Senate committee should vote on invitation to Campos Neto this Tuesday (14)

The Senate Economic Affairs Committee (CAE) is due to vote, this Tuesday (14), on an invitation to the president of the Central Bank, Roberto Campos Neto, for him to speak about the current basic interest rate, the Selic, which is at 13.75%.

CAE’s president, senator Vanderlan Cardoso (PSD-GO), submitted the request on February 17, even before he was elected to head the commission.

The senators’ main question should be about why the current Selic rate has remained at 13.75% since August 2022. Campos Neto can still be questioned about the autonomy of the Central Bank, a point that the federal government does not rule out reviewing.

In justifying the request, Vanderlan Cardoso states that the “current level of the basic interest rate has generated much debate in the economic area about the Central Bank’s obligation to reduce this index”.

The current Selic rate has been criticized by members of the federal government, including the President of the Republic, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT).

The president of the PT, deputy Gleisi Hoffmann (PR), and the finance minister, Fernando Haddad (PT), have also already shown dissatisfaction with the conduct of monetary policy.

As it is an invitation, Campos Neto is not required to attend the committee. However, behind the scenes, he has demonstrated that he must talk to the senators if the invitation is confirmed.

There is no forecast for a possible date of departure, but the trend is that it will be after March 22, due to the announcement of the next decision by the Copom (Monetary Policy Committee) on the Selic rate.

In addition to inviting Campos Neto, CAE also intends to vote on projects and an invitation request for former executives linked to Lojas Americanas, among others, to provide information on the company’s billionaire debt.

*Intern under the supervision of Luciana Amaral.