Haddad criticizes Campos Neto’s articulation to approve BC’s financial autonomy

The Minister of Finance, Fernando Haddad (PT), criticized this Wednesday (27) the president of the Central Bank, Roberto Campos Neto, for ignoring the government in articulating the approval of the PEC of the BC’s financial autonomy in the National Congress.

In an interview with CNN Brasil, Haddad admitted that Campos Neto’s political movement displeased the Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) government and said that, even though it was a protocol issue, “it is no less important”.

“I was the promoter of Roberto’s rapprochement with the government, in general, and with the President of the Republic, in particular. I think that, when it comes to the country’s Constitution, there would be a prior conversation. And there wasn’t. That’s what I said to Roberto”, stated the Finance Minister.

Campos Neto’s gesture soured the relationship with the minister, and they spent weeks without speaking, according to CNN. Haddad was asked if the BC president’s action betrayed his trust, but the minister said that “if we are going to take everything to heart and fire, it won’t build relationships”. He also made a point of highlighting that he never made any personal criticism of Campos Neto.

Enthusiastic about the Proposed Amendment to the Constitution (PEC) 65/2023, Campos Neto anticipated negotiating with senators to advance the proposal, which gives financial and budgetary autonomy to the BC, permanently delinking its relationship with the Executive Branch, in addition to autonomy operational in the conduct of monetary policy.

PEC 65/2023, presented by senator Vanderlan Cardoso (PSD-GO) in November, easily surpassed the necessary endorsement to begin processing (there were 42 signatures among the 81 senators). If the text passes the CCJ, where it is reported by senator Plínio Valério (PSDB-AM), it will need 49 votes in the plenary, in two rounds of voting. After that, it will need to pass two votes in the Chamber of Deputies, where it also needs the minimum support of 3/5 of the House (308 of the 513 federal deputies).

Read too:
• BC’s financial autonomy: what could change if Congress approves the PEC?
• PEC of BC autonomy will operate independently of the government, says rapporteur
• Campos Neto says that the BC’s financial autonomy is a “natural step”

Haddad stated that, in addition to the failure to conduct the debate on the PEC, she has some provisions with which she disagrees. “In fact, not just me. Many people interviewed here do not agree. It needs to be the subject of a more detailed analysis by those who will decide.”

In general terms, the PEC would transform the Central Bank, a federal agency with a budget linked to the Union, into a public company with total financial and budgetary autonomy, under the supervision of the National Congress. The BC would have full freedom to define, for example, the career plans and salaries of its employees, hiring and adjustments.

The financing of the institution’s activities would be made from revenues from the so-called “seignorage”, understood as “the opportunity cost of the private sector in holding currency compared to other interest-bearing assets” – along the lines of what occurs in central banks in countries such as the United States, Canada, Sweden, Norway and Australia.

In practice, the proposal expands the operational autonomy of the BC established three years ago, during the Jair Bolsonaro (PL) government. The then president sanctioned the BC autonomy project, which limited the Executive’s ability to influence the autarchy’s monetary policy decisions and created a fixed mandate for the BC president, which is unrelated to the election for the Presidency of the Republic.