Henrique Meirelles left the Ministry of Finance on April 6, eyeing the October presidential election. The tone of his last speech as a cabinet member left no doubt: he was speaking as a candidate. “I have always put myself at the service of the country, regardless of which party holds power […] My priority was always to get Brazil out of crises and back towards growth.”
Despite polling at a paltry 1 percent, Meirelles has entertained the idea of a presidential win that would be fueled by GDP growth and a lower inflation rate. “Feel-good factors will start showing up soon,” he says. That, in Meirelles’s calculations, would propel his name forward to join the...