In a meeting with the big banks this Monday (8), President Jair Bolsonaro (PL) returned to attack the manifesto in defense of democracy, which should be read at the USP Law School this Thursday (11).
Addressing bankers, the president said: “You have to look me in the face, see my actions, and judge me around.” “I’m not going to sign a letter,” he added.
On Monday, the Chief Executive took part in a meeting with Febraban (Brazilian Federation of Banks) and CNF (National Confederation of Financial Institutions) in São Paulo.
Febraban is one of the institutions that decided to sign the manifesto organized by civil society organizations in defense of democracy. Milton Maluhy Filho (president of Itaú), Octávio de Lazari Junior (president of Bradesco), Luiz Carlos Trabuco (Chairman of the Board of Directors of Bradesco), Mário Leão (Chairman of Santander), Sérgio Rial (Chairman of the Board of Directors of Santander), Fausto Ribeiro (Chairman of BB), Daniella Marques (Chairman of Caixa) and Isaac Sidney, president of Febraban.
In an alarmist and electoral tone, Bolsonaro mentioned the Foro de São Paulo (a conspiratorial term adopted by right-wing and far-right militancy) and said he considered the left to be responsible for the economic failure of neighboring countries. He also said that if Lula returns to power, Brazil could join a “train” headed by Cuba and Venezuela.
“Everyone from the ‘Foro de São Paulo’ has to be invited to sign the Charter for Democracy now… Let’s get Bolsonaro out of there. A democrat in corruption is better than an honest one in a strong regime. What is my strong regime? ? Tell me a word of mine against democracy? Did I have a deputy arrested? “, said the president.
During his speech, Bolsonaro made the meeting a kind of electoral platform, displayed posters with reproductions of the news and launched several attacks against Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT), in first place in the polls of voting intentions for the Presidency, and against the left in Latin America.
During his speech at Febraban, Bolsonaro also criticized Lula’s adherence to the manifesto in defense of democracy.
“So much so that, according to the press, [Lula] just signed the pro-democracy letter. Beautiful photograph, next to the young wife”, joked the Chief Executive. Then, he cited statements by the opponent in favor of the dictatorship of Daniel Ortega in Nicaragua and recalled the support for the governments of Hugo Chávez and Nicolás Maduro in Venezuela.
The president asked the bankers if “they would rehire an employee who was arrested in the past” — in reference to Lula’s candidacy, who even served time due to convictions in Lava Jato, but the process was considered irregular in a later analysis by the STF.
This is not the first time the president has criticized the manifestos. Bolsonaro has been trying to disqualify the documents and has already called the signatories of the letter “mammal businessmen”.
“These people who sign this manifesto are blunt, without character, I won’t use other adjectives, because I’m a very polite person,” said the president, in a recent interview with Rádio GuaÃba.
On another occasion, he classified it as a “letter” and attributed the banks’ adhesion to it, because the government would have given them a “blow” with the creation of Pix, an instant payment system.
The meeting on Monday was an attempt at rapprochement with a sector that has positioned itself more critically in recent weeks, since Bolsonaro made a presentation to foreign ambassadors with attacks on the electoral system.
The episode was the starting point for two manifestos in defense of democracy: one organized by civil society, entitled “Letter to Brazilians in Defense of the Democratic State of Law”, which already has more than 780,000 signatures; another, by Fiesp, in defense of Democracy and Justice.
Among the signatories of the first manifesto are the bankers Roberto Setubal and Pedro Moreira Salles, co-chairs of the board of directors of Itaú Unibanco, and the columnist for Sheet Candido Bracher, former president of the financial institution and now also a member of its board.
Bolsonaro also asked that the interest charged in the form of the payroll loan be reduced by financial institutions.
“I make an appeal to you. The people from BPC will enter [BenefÃcio de Prestação Continuada] on the payroll loan. That’s a guarantee, payroll discount. If you can reduce it as much as possible, because we are still at the end of the turmoil, so that we can all increasingly show that Brazil is no longer a country of the future, it is a country of the present”, said Bolsonaro at the headquarters of Febraban, in the capital of São Paulo. .
In July, the Senate approved a provisional measure that authorizes the granting of payroll-deductible loans to those who receive the BPC (benefit aimed at low-income seniors and people with disabilities) and increases the margin of payroll-deductible loans for retirees and pensioners.
According to the Panel SA column, from the Sheet, the president of Febraban, Isaac Sidney, told Bolsonaro that the banking sector works with “dialogue” and “a perspective of collaboration with all the constituted authorities”. He also said that he has serenity when talking about interest rates and that what the banks want is a stable economy, with low inflation, “that allows cheaper interest” to expand credit.
“We appreciate the importance of dialogue and dialogue, as we need to seek, both private and public sector, to improve the business environment to increase Brazil’s productivity and competitiveness,” said Sidney.
Ministers Paulo Guedes (Economy), Ciro Nogueira (Casa Civil) and the candidate for the government of São Paulo TarcÃsio de Freitas, were also in the audience of guests at the headquarters of the federation of banks.
“It was an opportunity to take a look back at what Brazil has been through, and how it is doing,” said TarcÃsio de Freitas about the lunch, in a conversation with journalists at the end of the meeting.
The candidate for the government of São Paulo stated that the country is one of the few today that is growing and generating employment, and with a measure to control the high inflation.
“We talk so much about respect for institutions, look how important it was, this was said here, to have an independent Central Bank. It was the first central bank to raise interest rates, and it will be the first to lower interest rates, because inflation is yielding .”
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