Good morning! Today, we talk about the new Central Bank directors. Brazil starts making fighter jets. And an airport pickle.
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A new monetary policy director
After much ado, the government announced its first two picks for the Central Bank’s board of governors. Gabriel Galípolo, the deputy finance minister, was chosen as the bank’s next monetary policy director; Ailton Aquino dos Santos was appointed the new head of auditing, a largely technocratic position. They still need to be confirmed by the Senate before taking up their positions.
Backdrop. Since 2021, the Central Bank has had operational autonomy to pursue inflation targets. Directors now serve four-year terms and cannot be unilaterally fired by the government. That’s why Brazil now has a hawkish Central Bank, with governors appointed by the former Jair Bolsonaro administration, despite the current administration desperately wanting to lower interest rates.
- Members of the Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva administration, especially the president himself, have lambasted the bank for keeping interest rates at 13.75 percent (giving Brazil the highest...