PSOL wants BC president to explain interest rate – 07/02/2023 – Mônica Bergamo

The PSOL bench in the Chamber of Deputies wants the president of the Central Bank (BC), Roberto Campos Neto, to appear in the House to explain the institution’s interest rate policy —the interest rate was maintained at 13.75% last week, level considered high and criticized by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT).

The invitation request will be filed this Tuesday (7) at the Chamber’s board of directors by the leader of the PSOL bench, federal deputy Guilherme Boulos (SP). The request still needs to be approved by the plenary.

In addition, the party bench should also present this Tuesday a bill to revoke the autonomy of the bank. Boulos said on Monday (6) on social networks that Lula “is absolutely right to question the ‘independence'” of the bank. “If the BC does not need to be accountable to Brazilian society, who does it answer to?”, wrote the parliamentarian.

As the column showed, the president and ministers of his government consider that Roberto Campos betrayed the confidence that the government placed in him to dialogue and participate in a joint effort for Brazil to overcome the economic problems it faces today without going through a recession.

The tension in the relationship with the head of the monetary authority, appointed by Jair Bolsonaro (PL), occurs after the BC has kept interest rates at a high level for the fourth time in a row and in the midst of an escalation in Lula’s criticism of the institution.

The assessment of members of the federal government is that Campos Neto was inept with Copom’s decisions and the tone of the last communiqué —in which he signaled the maintenance of the Selic at the current level for longer. In the view of Planalto allies, there was a confusion between BC autonomy and isolation.

By Law 179/21, which defined the autonomy of the Central Bank, the president of the institution can be dismissed when he presents “proved and recurrent insufficient performance for the achievement of the objectives of the Central Bank of Brazil”. That would be the case of Campos Neto.

The legal possibility exists, and Lula has escalated the confrontation with the BC by making harsh and recurrent public criticism of the bank president —whom he considers a Bolsonarist trying to lead the country into recession. But the government itself knows that it would need to move mountains for the removal, even within the law, to be effective.

First, the cost of such a move would be high, with impacts on the value of the dollar, on the stock exchange and on Brazilian assets listed abroad. The financial market would strongly resist. In addition, the exoneration would have to be approved by an absolute majority of the Federal Senate.

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Actress Tay O’hanna, accompanied by her girlfriend, Thalita Carauta, received guests at the premiere of the second season of the series “As Five” (Globoplay). Cast partner, actress Ana Hikari also attended the event, which took place on Monday night (6), at Blue Note, in São Paulo. Rapper Preta Rara stopped by

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