Chamber of Deputies President Maia Criticizes BNDES Double Resignation

By Richard Mann

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The president of the Chamber of Deputies, Rodrigo Maia, said on Monday morning, June 17th, that the resignations of Joaquim Levy from the presidency of BNDES and lawyer Marcos Barbosa Pinto from the bank’s Capital Markets board are “unprecedented cowardice”.

Levy resigned this Sunday, June 16th, the day after President Jair Bolsonaro said at a press conference that there was “a bounty on his head”. Bolsonaro demanded that Levy dismiss Marcos Pinto, who stepped down on the same day, after the president’s speech.

“Too bad Brazil lost two prominent names like the lawyer and Levy. I find it unprecedented cowardice,” said Maia.

“Levy came from Washington [where he served as director of the World Bank] to work in the government. It’s wrong [to leave like this], you can’t treat people like this. If you are to fire them, you call them and you fire them. No one is forced to keep a trusted server if they are no longer trustworthy. Now, handling specifically these two, this way, I thought it was very bad,” said Maia.

At an event promoted by BandNews, Maia said that after Levy’s resignation from the presidency of BNDES, it is up to the Minister of Economy, Paulo Guedes, to monitor the situation. “The one who has to hold on tight is the one who nominated, and that was the Minister,” said Maia.

“I think Guedes made a mistake, but that’s over, that’s settled. I wanted Marcos Pinto to be harnessed in an area of significant debate on the economy from a social perspective. He is among the best in Brazil who understand this area; it is a pity that it was done this way,” he added.

To Andreia Sadi’s blog, Maia said he was “perplexed” by Paulo Guedes’ handling of Joaquim Levy. According to members of the economic team, Levy’s replacement is to be appointed by the Minister of Economy, Paulo Guedes, and should come from the private sector.

According to Paulo Guedes, Bolsonaro was “distressed” at the fact that Levy had chosen “names linked to the Worker’s Party PT” for the bank. Marcos Pinto is respected among economists and technicians. According to the Valor Econômico newspaper, he holds a master’s degree in law from Yale University (USA) and a doctorate from the University of São Paulo (USP).