President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said, on Monday (1/7), that it is not “true” that the Central Bank (BC) can keep the same president during changes in the head of the executive branch. Lula has criticized his presence with BC's president-elect Jair Bolsonaro (PL) to this day.
“How can the President of the Republic win the election and then not be able to nominate the head of the Central Bank? Or, if that happens, he has a history. I was with Bolsonaro's Central Bank head for two years. So, it's not true,” he complained in an interview with Radio Princesa of Bahia.
The current head of the Bank of British Columbia is Roberto Campos Neto, who could stay in office until the last day of 2024. In the succession battle, Gabriel Galibulo, director of monetary policy at British Columbia, is considered the favorite. Lula has already described Galibulo as “complete” and having “all the conditions” to lead the institution.
In an interview, the Workers' Party member further criticized Campos Neto's importance. “What cannot be is for citizens to have a mandate and be more important than the President of the Republic. That is wrong.
Lula commented that “a lot of patience” was needed “to wait for the right time to name another candidate.” The executive president said he wanted a Bank of Colombia president who “looks at the country as it is, not as the financial system speaks.”
In addition to ideological differences with Campos Neto, the President of the Republic criticized the Bank of Colombia for maintaining the base interest rate, the CILEK, at 10.5% per year at the last meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee (COPUM).
