(Reuters) – Brazilian Finance Minister Fernando Haddad said on Friday that President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva will not adopt unorthodox policies with next year’s presidential election in mind, where he is seen as the leading left-wing candidate.
“We will stay the course, meeting our targets and pursuing our goals because this is the right path,” he said. “We won’t make anything up, Lula is not one to take exotic measures for electoral reasons.”
Speaking at an event hosted by Arko Advice in Sao Paulo, Haddad said this year could see a global depreciation of the dollar, even if U.S. interest rates do not fall as much as expected.
Such a scenario would aid Brazil’s central bank in its efforts to control inflation, he added.
After policymakers raised interest rates by 100 basis points last week to 14.25% and signaled a smaller hike in May, Haddad said that rates are at an “ultra-restrictive level” that will play their role in cooling economic activity.
Recent economic indicators have cast doubt on the pace of the slowdown, including formal job creation, which came in well above expectations in February, according to data released earlier on Friday.
Haddad said formal employment is set to remain strong, as Latin America’s largest economy is expected to see a robust agricultural crop, boosting hiring this year.
(Reporting by Marcela Ayres; Editing by Gabriel Araujo)
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