President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) defended this Monday (13) the performance of public banks and the role they played during the 2008 financial crisis. Lula participated via video conference in the ceremony in honor of Caixa’s 164th anniversary.
“Without Caixa and other public banks, we would not have turned the tsunami of the financial crisis that swept the world in 2008 into a simple ‘tumbleweed’,” he said.
The Chief Executive also mentioned the reductions in the unemployment rate, with the lowest levels since the beginning of the historical series, and economic growth above economists’ forecasts. However, he left out the increase in inflation above the target in 2024 and the current level of the dollar, which exceeds R$6.
In his speech, the president said that Caixa is an “example of an institution” and highlighted the bank’s role in the operation of government social programs and the PAC (Growth Acceleration Program).
At the event, Caixa’s president, Carlos Vieira, stated that the bank was created on January 12, 1861 with the “purpose of bringing citizenship to Brazilians”, when 15% of the population was made up of slaves.
A career employee at Caixa, Vieira is the second president of the institution in Lula’s current term. The bank’s president took office in November 2023, appointed by the president of the Chamber, Arthur Lira (PP-AL). Vieira took over from Rita Serrano.
