Parliamentarians from the government base launched, this Tuesday (14th), in the Chamber of Deputies, the campaign “Interest rates now – or “#InterestBaixosJa”, in reference to the hashtag to be used in social networks –, which puts pressure on the Central Bank ( BC) for a monetary policy more favorable to workers and economic development. The launch also marks the start of the group in search of the 171 signatures necessary for the creation of the Parliamentary Front against Abusive Interest.
The articulation of the parliamentarians comes after President Lula (PT) raised his tone against the president of BC, Roberto Campos Neto, on account of the Selic rate, which is at 13.75%. The index is, in practice, the basic interest rate of the Brazilian economy, being used by the municipality as the main tool for controlling inflation.
With the media debate that has been created around the issue in recent weeks, deputies allied with the Planalto hope to strengthen the chorus against Campos Neto’s current policy, trying to break through the political blockade made by parliamentarians contrary to the idea of revising the autonomy of the Central Bank. Approved during the Bolsonaro government, this autarchy management model has a strong neoliberal character and therefore had, at the time, the support of most of Congress. The mayors of the House and Senate, Arthur Lira (PP-AL) and Rodrigo Pacheco (PSD-MG), for example, are resistant to changing the measure.
Deputy Lindbergh Farias (PT-RJ), responsible for articulating, in the Chamber, the movement against current rates, says that the initiative is about “disputing society”.
“We are going to fight to show that this interest rate is indecent and that Brazil cannot resume economic growth with it. And, of course, it’s a campaign that we’re also going to run on popular themes. You cannot accept a credit card with more than 400% interest per year, overdraft with more than 130% interest per year”, he exemplifies, mentioning the consequences of the problem.
The campaign brings some products that seek to make the movement’s discourse gain social capillarity, among them the launch of a virtual manifesto that will collect signatures to try to give strength and volume to the protest. The idea of creating the Parliamentary Front against Abusive Interest falls within the same context, as another product of the campaign. According to Lindbergh Farias, the group has just over 50 signatures, but expects to close this Tuesday with around 100 signatories. “Our idea is to reach the target by the end of Carnival”, says the deputy.
Like the other fronts that operate in Congress, the group should have a symbolic role in the sense of triggering debates on the subject, trying to give greater visibility to the agenda. The national president of the PT, deputy Gleisi Hoffmann (PR), draws attention to the projection of recession for the country. The alert was made in recent days, for example, by economist and former director of the Central Bank André Lara Resende, who has criticized the interest rate applied by the municipality.
“Most countries have higher inflation than Brazil and most have negative interest rates. Why do interest rates in Brazil have to be 13.75%? This interest prevents economic investment, private investment and, consequently, credit is compromised and this directly affects the population in the generation of employment and income. We need to get out of this vicious cycle”, defended Gleisi.
The campaign must act on different fronts. This Tuesday, a popular act was held in front of the central headquarters of the Central Bank, in Brasília, to protest against high interest rates. Other actions are being articulated in parallel. The PT’s national directory, for example, approved, on Monday (13), a resolution proposing that Roberto Campos Neto be summoned to provide explanations to the plenary of the Chamber. The measure is defended not only by parliamentarians from the PT bench, but also from different acronyms that support the government.
“The ballot boxes said which project they wanted for Brazil and the law that gave autonomy to the BC also defined rules. There it is clear that the Central Bank and the monetary policy have to generate employment and growth. These distorted interest rates are completely disconnected from the reality of the world”, criticizes Jandira Feghali (PCdoB-RJ), when qualifying Campos Neto’s conduct as a “boycott of the current government”.
Profits
Deputy André Janones (Avante-MG) said that the financial system, the main beneficiary of the rise in interest rates, behaves like a “cancer” for the Brazilian population.
“We live in a very different situation in our country, which is (the following): when things go well, everyone wins; when things go wrong, only the bank wins. We are not asking anyone to give up their billionaire earnings, but just to have a little more awareness so that we can achieve the much dreamed of social justice.”
In the image, the headquarters of the Central Bank, in Brasília / Photo: Agência Brasil
A supporter of the campaign, the founder of the Citizens’ Debt Audit, Maria Lúcia Fattorelli, points out that the current BC booklet harms the democratization of investments in the country. “When we have very high interest rates, the money becomes very expensive, inaccessible. If they were low, everyone listening to us could have access to low interest rates, and big investments could be made. Even the person who starts a small business, when he has capital and the interest is low, his profit, even if small, covers the cost of the loan and he can, for example, hire other people to help him ”, she explains .
For Fattorelli, the current moment is propitious for the revision of the policy applied by BC. “This movement is fundamental because, for the first time, we have a president who has the courage to face one of the most serious problems in Brazil. If high interest rates are holding back the Brazilian economy, we have to change that.”
Editing: Rodrigo Durão Coelho
