Lula allies request a gag order on the chairman of Brazil’s Central Bank

Members of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s Workers’ Party – including its chairman, Congressman Gleisi Hoffmann – filed a lawsuit on Wednesday asking to ban Central Bank President Roberto Campos Neto from making political statements.

Mr Campos Neto has been a lightning rod for left-wing outrage since Lula came to power in January 2023, as the president and other government officials blamed high borrowing costs for blocking faster economic growth. They also accuse Mr Campos Neto of having a hidden political agenda.

If The Brazilian report As explained in the Brazil Daily newsletter of June 19, tensions between the government and the chairman of the Central Bank have reached new heights.

Lula hit Mr Campos Neto in a radio interview on Tuesday, saying he is working “against the country”. The move came after the head of the Central Bank accepted the awards at São Paulo’s state congress last week, an event at which Mr Campos Neto championed greater autonomy for the bank. He then had dinner with far-right governor Tarcísio de Freitas – a potential challenger to Lula in 2026.

During the ceremony, Mr Freitas showered Mr Campos Neto with praise. For his part, the central banker said the state should be “minimum enough, but enough to achieve development and generate predictability and credibility.”

At the same event, Mr. Campos Neto said that the Lula government represents the first “real test” of the bank’s autonomy, which will come into effect in 2021. He has publicly supported a bill to make the bank a publicly traded company, which would give the bank more financial independence. .

“By not publicly contesting the news that he indicated his intention to take the position of Minister of Finance (in a possible Freitas government) and that he would support a potential presidential candidate more than two years before the elections, it is clear that respondent’s conduct is driven by private interests, which is a clear violation of the principles of morality and impartiality,” the lawsuit states.

Mr Campos Neto often makes public statements. He gave a live television interview for the prestigious Roda Viva show in February 2023, shortly after Lula took office, and was recently interviewed by CNN Brasil in late April. He has also spoken in hearings in the House of Representatives and the Senate and often speaks at financial institution events.

The Central Bank did not immediately respond to a request for comment.