Deputy, who will take over as leader of the PT from February, says that new proposals to cut spending are a mistake because the market already has a position against the government
The federal deputy (PT-RJ), 55 years old, stated that the president of the Central Bank, Gabriel Galípolo, should act to improve the relationship between the president’s government (PT) and the financial market. In an interview with Poder360said there is “implication” of the sector with the government, but that the relationship can improve based on the dialogue that the new head of the monetary authority can have.
“I think Galípolo’s entry is not just anything. Because you have an interlocutor with the market, with financial institutions. The Central Bank has a lot of weight there. […] He wants the Lula government to work. He was executive secretary of Haddad [Fernando Haddad, ministro da Fazenda]. What I honestly think is that there was political sabotage by Roberto Campos Neto [ex-presidente do Banco Central]. And I think now he can try to change the perception. […] It creates the conditions to improve the relationship with the market and try to make this interest rate drop at some point”, these Lindberghs.
Watch the interview (56min29s):
One of the fiercest critics of former Central Bank president Campos Neto, Lindbergh says there was “political sabotage” from the former administration to the PT government. Now, he hopes that Galípolo can reverse the rise in interest rates, although the BC will increase the basic interest rate, the Selic, by another 2 percentage points.
The base interest rate is 12.25% per year but, according to the Focus Bulletin, financial agents expect an increase of at least 15% in July – a level that has not been reached since 2006.
Lindbergh also said it would be a mistake to send new spending-cutting measures to Congress because, in his assessment, the market will consider them insufficient, regardless of the proposals.
“I just think there is a market position. It is a position contrary to this government, and in fact, everything we present, they say is little. What happened when the government presented that package [de corte de gastos apresentado no fim de 2024] it was an attack. The dollar rose and they did not recognize the size of the effort made by the government. Now they are talking about new adjustment measures. I think it’s a mistake for us to continue on this path, because I already know what’s going to happen. They will say it is insufficient”, declared the deputy.
For Lindbergh, a large part of the sector is aligned with the former president (PL), Lula’s main political opponent. “It’s a group, a large part, that voted for Bolsonaro, has ill will towards the government and will try to bet against it”, said the congressman.
The deputy defended that the government has made a large fiscal effort and that there is no spending, but declared that the national debate should take place around issues of the popular economy. “We are coming out of a fiscal deficit, primary deficit, last year, of 2.3% of GDP [Produto Interno Bruto]. And we are delivering 0.1% of GDP. It’s a big fiscal effort,” Lindbergh said.
