Union centrals protest against basic interest rate of 13.75%

In São Paulo, the group met in front of the bank’s headquarters, on Avenida Paulista, and had a sardine barbecue. “The intention is to show that high interest rates fatten the rentier sharks, while, for the people, there is only sardines left”, explained, in a note, the president of Força Sindical, Miguel Torres.

Força Sindical offers sardine barbecue in São Paulo in protest against high interest rates – Fernando Frazão/Agência Brasil

Today the Monetary Policy Committee (Copom) of the Central Bank (BC) is carrying out the second meeting of the year to define the basic interest rate of the economy, the Selic. The forecast is that monetary tightening will be maintained with the Selic maintained at 13.75%, even with pressure from the federal government to reduce the rate. Copom’s decision will be announced on Wednesday (22).

According to the Central Única dos Trabalhadores (CUT), which participated in the mobilization, the acts also claim the democratization of the Tax Appeals Administration Council (Carf), which judges administrative processes of large debtors. “In general, (the CARF) benefits evading companies, because most of the board members are businessmen”, says the CUT.

For Adriana Magalhães, from the Bank Workers Union of São Paulo, the high interest rate delays social development and is one of the main causes of poverty in Brazil. “If the government pays 13.75% interest on the public debt, there will be a lack of money for health and education. We want to get out of this situation of misery and poverty that the Bolsonaro government left us with.”

The protest act by the union centrals also calls for the departure of the president of BC, Roberto Campos Neto, who was appointed by the Bolsonaro government and has a mandate until December 2024.

“It is absurd what the Central Bank is doing to workers, to our country, playing against our development and the resumption of growth. Therefore, we held demonstrations in several capitals of the country”, said, in a video on social networks, the president of Força Sindical.

Also participating in the manifestation were representatives of the Central dos Sindicatos Brasileiros and the Central dos Trabalhadores e Trabalhadores do Brasil (CTB), as well as members of popular movements.

CUT recorded on social networks that, in addition to São Paulo, events were held in at least three capitals: Fortaleza, Belém and Recife. In live, broadcast by the central, the national president of CUT, Sérgio Nobre, said that the current interest rate does not stimulate investments in the country. “Interest rates at this level discourage investment in production and encourage investment in rent seeking, who lives on income, which does not generate a job, does not put a grain of rice and beans on anyone’s plate”.

At the event in Recife, the president of the Bank Workers Union of Pernambuco, Fabiano Moura, emphasized that one of the objectives of the demonstration is to show the population the impact of high interest rates on everyday life, such as contracting real estate financing, credit for the family farmer and in the prices of food and other products. “This fight is fundamental to democratize this system that discusses the issue of interest in the country, so that it is more consistent with reality,” he said.

A Brazil Agency requested a position from the Central Bank, but did not receive a response until the publication of the report.

* Article updated at 4:14 pm to add information