Lula signals possible change in BC autonomy after Campos Neto

President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said this Thursday that he may seek to review the autonomy of the Central Bank when the mandate of the institution’s current president, Roberto Campos Neto, ends.

“I want to know what independence was for. I’m going to wait for this citizen (Campos Neto) to finish his mandate so that we can make an assessment of what the independent central bank meant,” said Lula in an interview with RedeTV!.

Asked whether there could be a change in relation to autonomy, the President of the Republic confirmed. “I think it can, but … I mean this is irrelevant to me. This is irrelevant, this is not on my agenda. What is on the agenda is the interest rate issue,” he said.

Lula has frequently criticized interest rates and the BC’s independence, claiming that the institution doesn’t do more now than when its president was changed whenever a new government took office. During the campaign, however, Lula stated more than once that he did not intend to propose, at least initially, legislation that would reverse the BC’s independence.

The independence of the Central Bank was approved by Congress and sanctioned by then President Jair Bolsonaro in February 2021. The terms of office of the president and directors of the BC, which last four years, do not coincide with those of the President of the Republic, so that the governments that take office have to live with monetary authorities appointed by the previous administration for some time.

Appointed by Bolsonaro, Campos Neto will remain in office until December 2024.

In the interview, Lula also criticized businessman Jorge Paulo Lemann, who was compared to Eike Batista.