Economist Persio Arida and former PT senator Aloízio Mercadante, president of the Perseu Abramo Foundation, met last week. The meeting took place after an invitation from Mercadante and was interpreted as a diplomatic move towards approximation that seeks to expand the economic agenda of the alliance between ex-president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) and ex-governor of São Paulo Geraldo Alckmin (PSB) in this year’s presidential campaign.
The movement is considered delicate. Resistance, after all, is reciprocal.
Linked to PSDB administrations, Arida is one of the fathers of Pano Real, he was president of BNDES and the Central Bank in the government of Fernando Henrique Cardoso. He has always been on the opposite side of the PT and is a critic of the party’s prescriptions. However, he is Alckmin’s trusted economist and was coordinator of his economic program in the 2018 presidential campaign. They both respect and admire each other.
The most complicated thing in advancing the talks is balancing the economic views of the two parties, which are distinct. Persio is in the group that believes that a new fiscal rule is needed, a kind of revision of the spending ceiling, which, in a way, aligns him with a good part of PT economists.
However, it is a critical to overspending. He argues that spending should be focused on more efficient social programs and a review of mandatory expenses, including salaries and social security, something that the PT is no longer willing to deal with.
Minister of Dilma Rousseff’s government and quoted to coordinate Lula’s government program, Mercadante says he heard Pérsio’s view on the conjuncture and eventual economic proposals.
“We are going to delve deeper, but he is not committed to any candidacy or program, but he is open to talking with the democratic field”, says the PT member, remembering that the two studied together for 50 years at USP’s Faculty of Economics and Administration.
Economy is one of the topics dear to Alckmin and, according to the sheet found, he is interested in making contributions in this area. Part of this includes bringing PSDB economists closer to the PT group.
In addition to Persio, he looks at Arminio Fraga, another economist linked to PSDB governments. Equally critical of PT administrations, he has so far refused to approach all candidates in this election.
Alckmin’s approach includes reinforcing the idea that the moment is one of union in favor of democracy, but among the most suspicious it is still unclear whether he will actually be heard or just used by the PT in the campaign and later sidelined.
Persio was founding partner and president of BTG and is also highly respected in the financial market. Some members of the PT believe that approaching him would be an excellent signal for investors and would help to break down resistance on the part of businessmen.
In this respect, for this group, Persio could now have the same effect triggered 20 years ago by Antonio Palocci, the former finance minister who contributed favorably to Lula’s election and first term.
The expectation is that in the coming days there will be announcements of meetings with nominees from other parties, such as PC do B and PSOL.
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