‘I voted for Lula against Collor and I voted again, against Bolsonaro’, says founder of Natura

Five years ago, when asked what the main characteristics he appreciated in a candidate, Pedro Passos listed: “Willingness to learn, to be successful and ethics”. Founder and current co-chairman of the board of directors of Natura&Co, Passos also pointed out what he least appreciated in a candidate: “Wanting to win at any cost.”

The questions, formulated by young people from Fundação Estudar (a non-profit organization that supports education), referred to the qualities of a candidate for a job vacancy. But for Pedro Passos, 71, they are perfect for a candidate for public office.

The businessman voted for Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in the second round of this year’s presidential elections, when he had to decide between PT and Jair Bolsonaro (PL). But Lula was not his first choice. “I voted for Simone Tebet [MDB]”, says Passos who, as part of the Brazilian business community, was looking for an alternative to political polarization.

The emedebista came in third in the presidential race and, in the second round, openly supported Lula. Voting for PT on October 30, however, was not new in Passos’ life. “I voted for Lula against Collor”, says the businessman, referring to the second round of the 1989 presidential race, contested between Lula and Fernando Collor de Mello (then of the PRN and today of the PTB).

Collor won the elections by a difference of 4 million votes, and glued Lula, then in his first presidential race, to the label of “communist”, while claiming to be a defender of “shirtless” and “bare feet”. “Collor never inspired confidence in me,” says Passos, who considers the last four years of Jair Bolsonaro’s government “a setback.”

Now, the businessman, an engineer graduated from the Polytechnic School of USP (University of São Paulo), who in 1969 founded Natura alongside his friends Guilherme Leal and Luiz Seabra, hopes that Lula will not govern for the PT and the party’s interests.

“It is important for Lula to bring together people who defend a line of economic thought different from that of the PT, who can attenuate that interventionist image that the market has of the party.”

What is your assessment of the second round of the electoral campaign and Lula’s victory? The campaign in general was marred by poor debate, especially during the second round. There was no discussion of proposals. The country came out of the election more divided than it arrived.

Lula’s first speech was good, open, in the sense of pacifying the country. He signaled the opening of a larger, broader front, which is needed at this time to bring together other political forces, such as Simone Tebet, who played a very important role in the final course of the electoral campaign.

It is important for Lula to bring together people who defend a different line of economic thought from the PT. To govern, it is necessary to attract these other cadres.

Was Lula your first choice? No, it was Simone Tebet. But I wouldn’t vote for [Jair] Bolsonaro. The last four years have been a setback, especially in the social and environmental areas. in 2018 [quando Bolsonaro disputou a presidência com Fernando Haddad, do PT]I void the vote.

Was it the first time you voted for Lula? No, I had already voted for him in 1989, against [Fernando] Collor, who never gave me confidence.

How do you evaluate the post-election environment? The atmosphere of tension in the air persists, after the blockade of several roads in the country by Bolsonaristas, contesting the result of the elections. We need to be alert to any possibility of backsliding.

I don’t believe in coup. The forces that the president would need to rely on for this to happen, the Armed Forces, are not committed to this idea. At least this is my crowd.

What are the priorities of the Lula government in 2023? First, he needs to establish clearer political and economic direction, something he has not been able to do so far. It is necessary to know how the government will allocate resources to fulfill campaign promises and at the same time adopt a responsible economic and fiscal policy.

It is essential to rescue foreign relations and environmental policy, as Lula already indicated in his first speech. The willingness of international institutions to support Brazil under the new management indicates that this process will be facilitated.

There is a huge constraint in the country in resuming the fiscal responsibility policy. But today the spending ceiling is breached. It is necessary to adopt a reasonable fiscal anchor, which guarantees Brazil a more solid position in the future, in addition to promoting tax and administrative reforms. This will bring more confidence to investors, both Brazilians and foreigners.

Who could be at the head of the economic team, in your opinion? The president-elect has many respected names to join his economic team. I would not like to cite any in particular. These are names that, at this moment, may weaken that interventionist vision that the market has of PT. Names that can bring a more modern political and economic vision to the party.

I have the feeling that Lula is more open to composing a larger front than the PT. If it goes in this direction, his government will be strengthened.

you and your partners [Guilherme Leal e Luiz Seabra] founded Natura in 1969, during the military regime. Today the company is a multinational, one of the largest personal care and cosmetics groups in the world. How to expand a business going through such different political moments? In many ways, Brazil is still very volatile. In these more than 50 years, we have seen inflation run out of control, reaching hyperinflation in the 1980s, and before that a very harsh military regime that restricted civil liberties. But now I am happy that the country has mobilized to overcome the setback. Happy not to have gone back to the past and found that democratic institutions work.

A company is not an island – for it to thrive, it needs society to thrive as well. A company like Natura, with a humanist approach, is proof of this: the resellers are our base, our strength. They need to prosper, to make a profit, for the business to develop. Also the environment, from where we extract our raw materials, needs to be taken care of and preserved, so that the business has sustainability.

How would you define sustainability? These are decisions taken today that impact future generations, in all fields: economic, social, environmental, cultural and political as well.