Marcela Ayres
Brasilia (Reuters) – Served under former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva Henrique Meirelles, the former head of Brazil’s central bank, said on Monday that he had not discussed joining the government. If the left-wing leader wins a third term in the October elections.
“There is nothing (on the table),” he told Reuters after backing Lula on the campaign trail, while highlighting his strong relationship with him.
When asked if he would accept the final invitation, he said he would not “wasting time deciding on a hypothesis” and said in 2002 added: Lula’s first proposal to win the presidency to manage the central bank came after the election.
Meireles built a market-friendly record at the central bank and ran for president in person
, on Monday with other former Lula-backed candidates attended an event together. Lula leads right-wing incumbent Jair Bolsonaro in the polls.
Strong support from Meirelles led to a strong day for Brazilian markets, with the currency up 1.8% and the benchmark stock index up 2.3%, traders said.
” I gave a strong speech precisely because I was a person who believed in the truth throughout my career and my life. And (Lula) both words are very good for the country,” he said, emphasizing successful control Inflation, job creation, poverty reduction, and foreign exchange reserves.
Meirelles said he was invited to campaign by Lula’s centrist running mate and former rival Geraldo Alckmin, whose name was also involved in the economic policy of the eventual Lula government.
When asked if the cooperation between the former governor of São Paulo, Alkmin and Lula, helped to gain Meireles’ support, the former central banker said it “helped”, but he Also underlined his position. Have a “good relationship” with Lula.
Brazil’s longest serving central bank governor (-2010), Meirelles is remembered for his role in managing the 2008 financial crisis and aggressively raising interest rates to fight inflation.
He also headed the Treasury Department during the term of former President Michel Temer 2016-2016 when he Two reforms were proposed that are considered critical to fiscal sustainability: the constitutional spending cap and the TLP rate on development bank BNDES loans, which push the cost of national credit closer to market rates. Both have been criticized by some economists close to Lula.
