Lula chooses Barbosa, Persio, Lara Resende and Mello to lead the transition in the economy

President-elect Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) defined that the command of his transition team in the economic area should be with Persio Arida, André Lara Resende, Nelson Barbosa and Guilherme Mello. The information is from different people involved in the negotiations.

With that, Lula opts for a division of the area between two economists of recognized liberal profile (Arida and Resende), who tend to please the market; and two party representatives (Barbosa and Mello), who defend the flexibilization of certain rules, such as the spending cap, to meet mainly social demands.

Arida was even mentioned among the names considered to take over the Ministry of Economy. He is close to Geraldo Alckmin (PSB), vice president-elect and transition coordinator.

The economist is one of the fathers of the Real Plan — which ended the hyperinflation scenario in the 1990s, during the transition of the Itamar Franco (1992-1994) and Fernando Henrique Cardoso (1995-2002) governments — and declared his vote for Lula in the second round. .

Economist graduated from USP (University of São Paulo), he was president of the BNDES and the Central Bank during the Fernando Henrique Cardoso administration — a period in which the Real was consolidated.

Resende, another member of Real’s father’s team who supported Lula, should not have a management position. He may be appointed to represent Brazil in an international body, such as the World Bank or the IMF (International Monetary Fund), or act as a public policy maker.

Barbosa, in turn, was Minister of Finance and Minister of Planning in the government of Dilma Rousseff (2010-2016). He should be a relevant voice above all in the debate on the fiscal rule to replace the spending ceiling, as his defense of an expenditure target has gained relevance in PT debates recently. Barbosa is also a columnist for Sheet.

Mello is the only one who has no experience in previous administrations. In the 2022 campaign, he was responsible for being the party’s spokesperson at different events and seminars, during which he often exhibited a vision close to Lula’s.

The fact that they are in transition does not mean that any of them will be ministers. Lula has told allies that joining the team does not automatically mean participating in the government.

PT names such as Fernando Haddad (SP), Rui Costa (BA) and Alexandre Padilha (SP) are still quoted for the Economy.