Brazilian BRICS boss to step down, Dilma Rousseff to take over

The New Development Bank (NDB), also known as the “BRICS bank,” announced that it has “initiated a process of leadership transition.” President Marco Troyjo will step down by March 24 and should be replaced by former Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff — who has been put forward for the position by the Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva government, which will have the right to make the nomination.

A career diplomat who served as deputy minister for foreign trade and international affairs during the Jair Bolsonaro administration, Mr. Troyjo was selected to lead the BRICS bank in 2020. If confirmed as his successor, Ms. Rousseff should serve the remainder of Brazil’s rotating mandate as head of the bank, which expires in July 2025.

Replacing Mr. Troyjo with Ms. Rousseff or another candidate is part of a larger strategy by Lula to inject more money into infrastructure projects and credit expansion, as well as to rehabilitate Ms. Rousseff’s image in Brazil. 

Handpicked by Lula to succeed him in 2010, Ms. Rousseff oversaw a mismanagement of the economy that led to a recession in 2015. Congress impeached her the following year as her approval ratings plummeted. In 2018, Ms. Rousseff tried and failed to win one of two Senate seats up for grabs in the state of Minas Gerais.

Speaking to The Brazilian Report, pro-government Congressman Zé Neto said Ms. Rousseff was important in the creation of the BRICS alliance (with Russia, India, China, and South Africa) and its institutions. 

Ms. Rousseff is set to accompany Lula on his trip to China at the end of March.

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