Meirelles criticizes Guedes: bad economic policy

Former Finance Minister Henrique Meirelles, current Finance Minister of São Paulo, said today that the result of the Bolsonaro government’s economic policy is negative. Criticism signed after Speech in which Minister Paulo Guedes classified (economy) as a ‘small talk’ predictions that Indicates a decline in economic growth in the country next year.

“The results of the current economic policy are negative. It is possible that the Minister of Economy will do the best he can in the event of the confusion that has upended this government and the economic region, but the result has been poor. To give a lot of signals. Serious that you are going Respecting the spending cap. If you want to pay social expenses to help residents, that’s fine. “But other expenses must be reduced,” Meirelles said in a post on her personal Twitter page.

Even as the market outlook for next year deteriorates, Guedes spoke again today that Brazil is growing at a faster pace, with a resumption of its V (rapid and strong economic recovery). “Next year we will grow again. That is always the talk. First, it will fall, it will stay there, it will not come back. Then it will come back in V”, said the Minister of Economy. According to Geddes, GDP will grow again and “everyone will do their job”.

market pessimism

Guedes’ statement came hours after Itaú Unibanco It publishes a report in which it now expects a 0.5% decline in GDP for 2022. Last week, XP revised its growth forecast for next year from 1.3% to 0.8%.

Data from the central bank’s Focus Bulletin suggests a growth rate of less than 5% this year. The median forecast for this year’s GDP rose from 5.01% last week to 4.97% this week. The average GDP expansion next year was reduced from 1.5% to 1.4% on the same basis as the comparison.

exchange of bullets

next to the president Jair BolsonaroMinister Paulo Geddesnot sunday, Henrik Meirelles criticized. It works at any party, anytime, anywhere, anytime. Social Security reform, did not implement tax reform, did nothing. “He just put on the roof and ran away,” Geddes said of his predecessor. Guedes’ comments came as a response to the barrage of criticism that the government has been targeting since then Suggesting maneuvers to break the spending ceiling.

About Maelson da Nobrega, a former finance minister from 1988 to 1990, in Jose Sarney’s government, Guedes said, “He took Brazil to 5,000% inflation, with his rice and beans policy. So, he took it. The Brazilian government into chaos and hyperinflation” ;

On this occasion, Guedes also said that Afonso Pastore should be “quiet and of a decent old age”, highlighting the association of the economic with the military dictatorship. “He was a good friend, he was an economist with a reasonable past. He didn’t have a good training…He kept cursing me, attacking me. He served in a military government. Bolsonaro was a democratically elected president. He helped a government that was not democratically elected. He has a decent old age.”

Pastore was head of the Central Bank from 1983 to 1985, during the military rule of João Figueiredo.

Read below the full text of what Henrique Meirelles said about Guedes’ economic policy during the Bolsonaro government.

“The results of the current economic policy are negative. It is possible that the minister of economy can succeed in doing his best in the chaos that upended this government and the economic region, but the outcome is bad,” he added.

The government will have to give a very serious signal that it will respect the spending cap. If you want to pay social expenses to help residents, that’s fine. But other expenses need to be cut.

In order to reduce these expenditures, it will be necessary to carry out an administrative reform, as we did in São Paulo. Nobody is against help. But it must be done responsibly if it does not become just another electoral policy causing serious problems in the economy.

The best social policy is job creation. Of course, this is just part of what we need to do to get the country’s economy back on track. We suffer dire consequences for the country’s image because of wrong attitudes.

The environmental issue is an example. The government declared that concern for the environment was not necessary and that the work was to clear the forests to produce more. This raised all kinds of concerns around the world. We have a price to pay for this.

Another point is the relationship with China. Brazil has taken a policy against them and, more recently, they have objected to buying our meat. There is no doubt that we face a serious consequence for the conduct of our government.

In other words: We need to clean the house, financially speaking, to start growing again. But this is just the beginning of the next challenge.”