Lula da Silva’s favorite former minister made a pessimistic analysis of a possible Workers’ Party (PT, left) government and said President Jair Bolsonaro still has a chance of winning the elections.
Former Minister of Economy and former president of the Central Bank of Brazil, Henrique Meirelles, had been inquired as the main candidate to return to the Treasury Palace in case Lula da Silva wins the elections.
Meirelles, considered a moderate and who managed to keep the Brazilian economy during da Silva’s first term without inflation from his leadership position at the Central Bank, was extremely close to the former president in recent weeks, with vicious attacks on Bolsonaro.
However, on October 19, in a conference together with the Europa Group, Temer’s former minister and leader of the center-left Social Democratic Party (PSD) said, according to R7, that da Silva’s economic plan is not to his liking and that “it is bad news 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 some financial 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 Lula da Silva if he wins. I say it depends. If you take his current government program, it would be bad news,” he sentenced.
“The election is very close at the moment. Lula da Silva’s chances are greater, but I still believe President Jair Bolsonaro has a real chance of winning,” the former minister staked his bet.
“Especially because the program was developed by a group of economists who firmly believe in the role of the state and state-owned enterprises in promoting development.
“This vision prevails at the moment,” he analyzed, comparing da Silva’s current program with former President Dilma Rousseff’s government.
In the lecture he gave for a group of consultants, he was asked if Lula da Silva might be obliged to make a more fiscally responsible government given that the Congress was left in the hands of the right wing.
His answer was lethal: “No.”
“My answer to whether he would become more conservative because of the results of the Congress is no,” the former minister predicted.
And he added that he is concerned that Lula da Silva has not yet made known any of his economic plans or the names that will head the economy before the elections, hinting that perhaps his appointment is not 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.
Still, he left the post after intense clashes with Lula da Silva who wanted to activate the banknote printing machine.
Then, he returned as Minister of Economy during Michel Temer’s presidency to approve liberal reforms, although he later criticized the same measures he took when they came from Bolsonaro’s team.
He was recently Finance Secretary of the infamous governor of São Paulo, João Doria, who had to resign involved in corruption scandals.
After the talk that should have remained in the private sphere, the former minister had to come out to correct his statements after a corrective from da Silva’s campaign.
With a meaningless tweet, Meirelles defended his support for Lula da Silva.
“In conversations with investors, I reiterate that, in my opinion, an eventual Lula da Silva government will prioritize fiscal and social responsibilities among the alternatives proposed by different groups of economists. Other interpretations of my statements are pure noise,” he tweeted.
It is a contradiction to say that a government will prioritize fiscal responsibilities and social responsibilities. The former requires a reduction in spending and the latter an increase.
This inconsistent statement from an experienced career economist indicates that the publication may have been written by a political advisor and not an economic one.
With information from Derecha Diario