Lula says he does not govern for the market, criticizes Lava Jato, and cites “neutral appointment” for the STF

President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) criticized the financial market and the president of the Central Bank, Roberto Campos Neto, again on Thursday (16) during an interview with CNN Brazil.

Other targets of Lula’s statements were former president Jair Bolsonaro (PL) and Operation Lava Jato, with indirect mentions to Senator Sergio Moro (União Brasil – PR).

About the economic agenda, the President of the Republic said he “does not govern for the market” and that it is “fragile”, as he has reacted negatively to his frequent comments on issues such as the spending cap and the autonomy of the Central Bank.

Lula referred to Campos Neto as “that citizen” and said that the interest rate could not be the only instrument to fight inflation.

When asked about the constant criticism of the president of the Central Bank and about Campos Neto’s nods to the federal government, he said he would invite him to visit poor locations in the country and signaled that the current administration’s dialogue with the monetary authority would continue to be done through Finance Minister Fernando Haddad.

“If I can’t talk to him [Campos Neto] about the interest rate and if I can’t influence him to reduce the interest rate, if I can’t talk to him about employment, then what will I talk about? So it’s important that he talks to Fernando Haddad every day, every hour, every month, every year, and that he keeps to the inflation target,” said Lula.

The president also came back to defend that the Central Bank’s autonomy should be reviewed if it doesn’t present economic results.

He also indicated that the issue might be reassessed at the end of Campos Neto’s term.

“An autonomous Central Bank will be better, [it will] improve the economy, great, but if it doesn’t, we have to change,” Lula told CNN.

Congress approved the Central Bank’s autonomy in 2021.

LAVA JATO AND STF

The president criticized the operation and press coverage without mentioning the name of Senator Sergio Moro, former judge of Lava Jato.

The president even said that Lava Jato had promoted a “deception of the press”.

He also said that it would be necessary to wait to understand how Moro and Federal Deputy Deltan Dallagnol will act in the “four years of their mandate”.

The senator, however, serves an eight-year term.

Lula was also asked about the performance of the Supreme Court (STF) Justices appointed during the PT administrations and the decisions made in actions that concerned him; the president said he never asked favors from any of them and never will.

Regarding future nominations to the Supreme Court, the PT president said he would make “neutral nominations”, about which he will talk to many people to gather information and analyze their resumes.

Justices Ricardo Lewandowski and Rosa Weber are due to retire this year – in May and October, respectively – and Lula will nominate two names for the Supreme Court.

“My nomination will always be a neutral nomination. I don’t want anyone in my favor or anyone against me. I want someone in favor of Justice and the fulfillment of the Constitution,” Lula said.

BOLSONARO

Lula made several mentions of former president Jair Bolsonaro and, as he had already done during the election campaign, related the Brazilian politician to Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini.

He also said he would be a “copy of Donald Trump,” former president of the United States.

The President repeated the statement he had made to American CNN and evaluated that Bolsonaro has no chance of returning to the presidency of the Republic in 2026.

In Lula’s view, this will occur because Brazilian society will be prepared in the coming years to “believe in what is true” and also because of the comparison that will be made between the results of the current PT administration and those of Bolsonaro’s administration.

ARMED FORCES

Lula also talked about the relationship with the Armed Forces after the January 8th vandalism acts in Brasilia.

The president said he heard from the general who assumed command of the Army, Tomás Miguel Miné Ribeiro, the commitment to contribute to the depoliticization of the Armed Forces.

“Whoever wants to do politics, ask to retire and go do politics. Whoever wants to continue in the Armed Forces will have to behave and [act for] the strict fulfillment of the Constitution,” the president said.

Also, on Thursday, the Army informed that General Gustavo Henrique Dutra de Menezes would leave the Military Command of the Plateau (CMP) to occupy the 5th subchief in the Army Staff (EME).

The move was announced on the Force’s website, along with other changes.

Dutra de Menezes was in charge of the Planalto troop during the January 8th acts, a position he had held since April 2022. Division General Ricardo Piai Carmona will take over the Planalto Military Command.

JOSÉ DIRCEU

About the mentions to the former minister José Dirceu, condemned in the mensalão trial, during the PT’s 43rd-anniversary party, Lula said that “nobody can be penalized for life” and referred to him as “a political activist of the highest quality.

According to him, Dirceu “shouldn’t be in hiding.

After this response, he again criticized the press coverage of the corruption scandals in which the PT was involved.

With information from Gazeta do Povo