President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) participated, this Monday morning (6), in the inauguration ceremony of Aloizio Mercadante as president of the National Bank for Economic and Social Development (BNDES), in Rio de Janeiro. More than 10 federal government ministers, vice president Geraldo Alckmin (PSB) and former president Dilma Rousseff (PT) were also present at the event.
In his speech, Lula refuted lies used by Bolsonarism that the BNDES lent money to countries with leftist governments, such as Cuba and Venezuela. The president also mocked a millionaire audit contracted by the management of Jair Bolsonaro (PL) who came to the conclusion that there were no irregularities in the financing made by the state-owned company.
“BNDES never gave money to countries friendly to the government. The bank financed engineering services for Brazilian companies in no less than 15 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean between 1998 and 2017. There are, yes, some contracts in arrears, all covered by guarantee. But the fact is that these operations made a profit, in addition to generating money and thousands of jobs in Brazil”, he said.
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“Let’s be frank: the countries that didn’t pay, be it Cuba or Venezuela, it’s because the president decided to cut international relations. To keep accusing us, he stopped charging. I’m sure that in our government these countries are all friends of Brazil and , will certainly pay the debt they owe to the BNDES”, he declared.
Lula also commented on the most recent decision by the Monetary Policy Committee (Copom) of the Central Bank to increase interest rates. The statements serve as a message to the president of the Central Bank, Roberto Campos Neto, appointed by Bolsonaro to the position and who enjoys “autonomy and independence” from the federal government, as determined by a project approved by the National Congress in 2021.
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“There is no justification for the interest rate to be at 13.5%. Just look at the letter from the Copom to see that this increase in interest rates and the explanation they gave to Brazilian society is shameful. Many people say that president can’t say that. If I, who was elected, can’t speak, who do I want to speak? A material picker? No, I have to speak,” said Lula.
Mercadante, in his inauguration speech, said that he does not intend to dispute the market with the private sector and that he wants more cooperation with other South American countries. “Our development necessarily involves the integration of Latin America and the partnership with countries of the Global South”, he stated.
“Our destiny is, therefore, indissolubly linked to the destiny of our region. Brazil is big, but it will be even bigger when it works together with its neighbors. of a museum about the history of slavery in Rio.
The ceremony also marked the announcement of the BNDES board members. Among them are former ministers of Dilma Tereza Campello and Nelson Barbosa, as well as Natalia Dias, Helena Tenorio, Alexandre Corrêa Abreu, José Luis Gordon and Luiz Navarro.
Editing: Rodrigo Durão Coelho
