Brazil Ex-Central Banker Meirelles Is Back on Lula’s Bandwagon
(Bloomberg) -- Henrique Meirelles, who became Brazil’s longest-serving central bank chief under Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva before running for the nation’s top job against allies of the ex-president in 2018, has officially jumped on the campaign of his former boss.
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Meirelles, 77, joined on Monday a group of seven other former presidential candidates from various political parties who are now supporting Lula’s candidacy ahead of the Oct. 2 election.
“I saw the result of your government and that’s why I’m here,” he said at the event in Sao Paulo. “I know what works and what can work in Brazil.”
The investor darling, who assumed as finance minister under Michel Temer when Lula’s hand-picked successor was impeached, is often cited as a potential member of Lula’s team should he win the October election.
Investors rejoiced at the possibility of his return to a key government position. The Brazilian real led gains among 16 major currencies tracked by Bloomberg and swap rates slumped, with contracts due January 2027 falling 18 basis points.
“The proximity between Lula and Meirelles is helping fuel expectations of a more pragmatic Lula should he be elected next month,” said Gustavo Brotto, chief investment officer at Greenbay Investimentos Ltda in Sao Paulo. “Still, that may leave a greater room for disappointment if Lula ends up choosing a less market-friendly name to run the economy.”
Meirelles also blasted the economic policies of incumbent Jair Bolsonaro, describing his cash transfer program as an election-driven injection of public money that will create problems in 2023. “We are seeing the impact of unbridled inflation and fiscal spending, which erodes the population’s standard of living.”
First-Round Win
Other former presidential candidates giving their support to Lula included his current running mate Geraldo Alckmin, and more leftist politicians such as Marina Silva, Fernando Haddad and Guilherme Boulos, among others.
Lula said he’s striving to form a broad coalition to obtain a landslide win. In Brazil, a candidate needs to receive more than 50% of valid votes to avoid a runoff, which would take place on Oct. 30.
“I’m working to win in the first round,” Lula said at the event, after receiving the group’s support.
Read More: Lula Widens Lead Two Weeks Before Brazil Vote, Poll Finds
The leftist former president saw his first-round voting intention rise to 44% from 41% in a FSB/BTG survey released Monday. Bolsonaro held steady at 35%, the poll showed.
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