Lula’s nominees to the Central Bank take office and will participate in the Copom meeting

Economist Gabriel Galípolo and accountant Ailton de Aquino Santos took office as Directors of Monetary Policy and Supervision at the Central Bank this Wednesday morning (12th) and have already begun to take over their new functions.

The duo was nominated by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) and endorsed by the Senate to the two boards of the monetary authority and are already going to participate in the next meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee (Copom) in August, in which the government hopes that they will influence the decision to start lowering the basic interest rate – currently at 13.75%.

The fall in the interest rate is seen as certain by the financial market, which predicts that it should end the year at 12%, according to the Focus Report released earlier this week.

The positions have four-year terms, with the possibility of reappointment for the same period.

Galípolo was executive secretary of the Ministry of Finance and was the trusted name of Minister Fernando Haddad, known as “number 2” in the portfolio. The economist’s nomination was welcomed by the president of the Central Bank, Roberto Campos Neto, and suggested to the minister when he guided the choice to the president.

Aquino, on the other hand, is a career servant at the BC and will be the first black person to assume a directorship at the institution.