Roberto Campos Neto, president of Brazil’s Central Bank, enjoyed a pleasant start to 2021, receiving The Banker magazine’s reputable Central Banker of the Year award. Given out to the officials “that have best managed to stimulate growth and stabilise their economy,” Mr. Campos Neto won the award after what the publication called his “competent response to the [Covid-19] crisis.” However, had The Banker’s adjudicators actually assessed Mr. Campos Neto’s main role in office, they may not have been so laudatory.
In the magazine’s view, the Central Bank’s measures to boost liquidity and credit had a major role in improving...