Asked about his position in the government, Mercadante refuses to answer

The technical coordinator of the government transition, Aloizio Mercadante, refused to answer whether he will be appointed to head any ministry or state in the next government, after being questioned by reporters this Monday (12).

Mercadante also claimed to be unaware of “any initiative” on the part of the government of President-elect Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT), who will take office on January 1, to amend the State-Owned Companies Law.

The dollar advanced more than 1.5% against the real and the Ibovespa registered a drop of more than 2.5% after news placed Mercadante as quoted to take over the command of BNDES or Petrobras.

According to market participants, Mercadante’s appointment would signal a more developmental economic policy by the elected government, with a possible expansion of public spending to boost growth.

Allied to this, rumors of changes in the Law of State-Owned Companies were also cited by financial agents as one of the reasons for the sharp drop in the Ibovespa.

As Mercadante acted in Lula’s campaign, his nomination for a state-owned company could come into conflict with the legislation.

This is because the State-Owned Companies Law establishes that “it is forbidden to appoint, to the Board of Directors and to the board of directors, the person who acted, in the last 36 months, as a participant in the decision-making structure of a political party or in work linked to the organization, structuring and carrying out an electoral campaign”.