Panel SA: Amoêdo says Brazil could have lower interest rates, but Lula gets in the way

After President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s new speeches on the independence of the Central Bank, former banker João Amoêdo said he considered that Brazil could have the lowest interest rate, if it weren’t for the PT’s comments to get in the way.

This Thursday (2), the president said that he may reassess the BC’s autonomy when the mandate of the institution’s current president, Roberto Campos Neto, ends.

“Each time Lula makes a statement like this, he increases instability, institutional risk and the result is an increase in interest rates,” wrote Amoêdo on a social network.

The former banker, who last year angered some members of the Novo party, of which he is a founder, when he announced a vote for Lula in the second round to defeat Bolsonaro, has been criticizing the new president on the internet, but maintains the fight against Bolsonarism. His motto now is to strengthen an opposition that is not just concerned with filling the void left by Bolsonaro.

Before the re-election of Rodrigo Pacheco (PSD-MG) in the Senate, this week, Amoêdo went to social media to defend his reappointment. “Opposition to the PT is vital, but the path is certainly not to elect a Bolsonarist to the presidency of the Senate. It would be a setback,” he said.

Joana Wedge with Paulo Ricardo Martins and Diego Felix