On the downside, the Brazilian stock market, following the domestic economic crisis, took off from the American market, which recorded record gains this year. But, at least symbolically, the former business center of the city of São Paulo will have something in common with the financial district of New York, in the United States.
B3, the Brazilian Stock Exchange, inaugurated this Tuesday (16), in the central area of São Paulo, a replica of the sculpture known as the Bull of Wall Street. The Brazilian version was named the Golden Bull, as it is golden. The original American piece is in bronze. It is called “Charging Bull”, which means charging bull or bull that attacks.
In stock market jargon, the bull represents the stock market’s bull times, as the bull horns upward. The statue is located south of the island of Manhattan.
The Brazilian version was installed in front of the Bolsa building, on 15 de Novembro Street, and is authorized by the Sé sub-prefecture to remain there for three months.
The bull is opposed to another financial symbol, the bear, an animal that knocks everything down with its kick and represents the moments of fall in the stock market.
The Gold Tour was created in partnership with the partner at XP and president of the Vai Tourinho financial education company, Pablo Spyer —also known for presenting the program Minuto Touro de Ouro, at Jovem Pan—, and conceived by the artist and architect Rafael Brancatelli.
The piece, says B3, “symbolizes the financial market and the strength of the Brazilian people”. The number of investors on the Brazilian stock exchange has increased in recent months, but it still represents a small portion of the population.
In October, B3 reached the milestone of 4 million individual variable income accounts. The number of unique CPFs is 3.4 million, as the same person can have an account with several brokers. The median value (average, not considering the extremes) of each portfolio is R$8,000, according to B3.
By way of comparison, in September there were 234 million active savings accounts in the country.
Constructed on a tubular metallic structure with high density fiberglass multilayers and anti-corrosive high temperature golden paint, the bull is 5.1 meters long, 3 meters high and 2 meters wide.
The structure weighs 1 ton and was positioned on site with a crane. Over the next three months, the piece will remain on the street 24 hours a day and will be watched by security guards who are already watching around the Exchange’s headquarters. B3 did not reveal how much it spent to produce and install the sculpture.
The inauguration is accompanied by an advertising campaign emphasizing that the sculpture, more than a symbol of the market, “will especially represent the characteristics of the Brazilian population”, says B3 in a statement.
The campaign will be led by four ordinary people who will tell how the decision to become investors impacted their lives.
According to Gilson Finkelsztain, president of B3, one of the motivations for the project is to contribute to the recovery of the center of São Paulo and strengthen the idea that the country has the strength to make progress in economic recovery.
“The Golden Bull represents the strength and resilience of the Brazilian people. The B3 is bringing this new symbol to enhance not only the center of São Paulo, but the development of the Brazilian capital market,” said Finkelsztain.
Another purpose of the installation is to attract more people to the stock market, according to Felipe Paiva, director of customer relations at B3. “It has an appeal for financial education, to instigate the Brazilian population with regard to information about investments”, he says.
The popularization of the Stock Exchange, according to Paiva, can be seen in the drop in the average value of the first contribution, which went from R$1,500 to R$273 in the last three years.
“Three or four years ago, there was the idea that it was necessary to have a lot of money to invest”, he says. “The intention is to demystify this, to show that you can start with R$100.”
Spyer, from XP and Vai Tourinho, says he took the idea of the Golden Bull to B3 as part of a strategy to promote the Exchange to 40 million Brazilians.
“The more people on the stock exchange, the more companies will be able to go there to raise capital and increase their sales and profits,” says Spyer. “The Touro will help promote the investment market to Brazilians, which is still very focused on savings.”
Among New York’s most visited tourist attractions, the original sculpture is recognized in the business world as a symbol of the financial market and luck — legend has it that scratching your muzzle, grabbing your horns or testicles brings good luck.
The New York bull is also frequently chosen as the target of protests from critics of capitalism.
Despite the fame linked to prosperity in the world of finance, it reached the center of the capitalist world at a time of crisis. The bull was carved by Italian artist Arturo di Modica, who illegally installed it in front of the New York Stock Exchange after the 1987 crash.
Di Modica transported his sculpture in a truck in December 1989 to lower Manhattan and left it under a Christmas tree in front of the New York Stock Exchange. It was his Christmas gift to New Yorkers, as a symbol of the strength and power of the people.
The gift sparked debate and dissatisfaction, but was accepted by the city a few weeks later. In 1989, it was installed north of Bowling Green Park, at the intersection of Broadway, where it remains today.
The artist died on February 20 of this year, aged 80, in his home in Vittoria, near Ragusa, in southern Sicily. Di Modica had been battling cancer for a few years.
With the collaboration of Larissa Garcia, from Brasília
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