Persio Arida declares vote for Lula

Economist Persio Arida, one of the fathers of the Real Plan, declared this Wednesday (5) that, in the second round of the elections, he will vote for the candidate Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT).

In an interview with SheetArida said the main reason lies in his finding that President Jair Bolsonaro (PL) is a risk to Brazil’s institutional stability.

He states that the fact that the Bolsonarista administration did not deliver what it promised in the economy also weighed in his decision, as well as causing damage to the environment, which deteriorated Brazil’s international image.

“In my opinion, there is no justification for Bolsonaro’s permanence in power,” says Arida.

Historically linked to PSDB administrations, Arida was president of the BNDES and the Central Bank during the government of Fernando Henrique Cardoso. He has always been on the opposite side of the PT and is a critic of the party’s prescriptions.

In 2018, he was coordinator of the economic program in the campaign of Geraldo Alckmin (PSB), now Lula’s deputy, and is a trusted economist.

why mr. decided to open your vote for Lula? The main reason is to contribute to the defense of democracy, which is our greatest asset. It is not now that I have been saying that Bolsonaro is a risk to institutional stability and the balance of Powers.

But there are other reasons. The performance in the economy was very bad. He didn’t deliver what he promised. It didn’t open the market, or tax reform, much less the privatizations it promised. The only privatization, that of Eletrobras, is the worst in history.

In my opinion, there is no justification for Bolsonaro’s permanence in power.

But Bolsonaro has reinforced in recent days his achievements in the economy as great assets… I don’t see what your great deeds were. Even the public accounts, which seem better, are not. Freezing civil servants’ salaries and letting inflation happen is an old trick, which Brazil has done many times. However, later, fighting the rise in prices takes the inflationary gain out of revenue, and the civil service presses for an increase.

The administrative reform, which is the effective way to make State spending more efficient, was not carried out by Bolsonaro either. Without this, there is no permanent reduction in the public deficit.

Are those two reasons then? There’s one more. I also vote for Lula because of my concern for the environment. I have the hope that we will stop being an outcast among the more developed nations when Bolsonaro leaves.

It is part of our responsibility to the world, as part of humanity, to care for the preservation of the environment. On the other hand, Brazil has an extraordinary opportunity when looking at this issue at an international level: attracting foreign investment to become an environmental power, a leader.

This question transcends the environment, it is a question of positioning as a nation.

We will not have that in the Bolsonaro government. He was a disappointment to those who believed in him, but it wasn’t my case, because I didn’t believe him.