Henrique de Campos Meirelles, 61, has long enjoyed a solid reputation among his peers, but his appointment at the central bank surprised many supporters of president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. During the electoral campaign, Lula said that his own party (the PT) had dozens of names to fill the top job position. At the time, Meirelles had just given up the presidency of BankBoston (which was acquired by Bank of America) and officially retired, before launching a political career – within the ranks of the former governing party, now in opposition.
His tight monetary policy and his uncompromising commitment to low inflation quickly turned him into an easy target for the hard left of Lula’s party. Harsh criticism also came from the vice-president, Jose Alencar Gomes da Silva, a textile magnate. The battle was tough, but Meirelles has emerged on top. He even suffered abuse and allegations of personal financial improprieties and crime against the financial system.
“Evidently, everything was clarified in due time, as you would expect. The inflation is on target, the country is growing, exports keep growing, the trade surplus is very strong, jobs are being created, etc. A very full audit was performed in my personal fiscal accounts, and the results were very good, excellent ... which shows that not only did I not owe income tax, but actually I have some money to get as a refund,” Meirelles tells Emerging Markets.
“All of that I consider as part of the work of bringing economic stability in a country which, in the past, had volatility and instability, and inevitably in every situation, you have winners and losers. The moment you bring stability, many winners become losers and these people react, which is normal – this is part of the game.”
A popular and trusted figure among bankers in and out of government, Meirelles was also appointed vice-president of the IIF’s group of trustees, alongside Jean-Claude Trichet, the president of the European Central Bank. “The idea is to establish a code of conduct which should govern creditors and debtors ... and therefore decreases the dimension of [possible] crises,” he says.
The only topic on which Meirelles keeps cards close to his chest is what he is going to do after the October elections. “As a good central banker, I am not announcing future plans,” he says. —Thierry Ogier