Mercadante: the right man, in the right place, at the right time.

Mercadante at BNDES is a typical case of the right man in the right place. And also at the right time. 

Mercadante is the right man. Because he is one of the best professionals Brazil has. He could easily fill any position in our public administration. 

He holds a degree in economics, as well as a master's and doctorate in the field. Furthermore, he has a long and distinguished career in Brazilian public life. He has served as a federal deputy, senator, president of the Chamber of Deputies' Economics Committee, President of the Mercosur Parliament, Government Leader in the Senate, Minister of Science and Technology, Minister of Education, Chief of Staff, etc.

He more than meets all the requirements dictated by Article 17 of the State-Owned Enterprises Law, including the one relating to the quarantine period, since he has not held any party leadership positions recently. The proposed amendment to this law has no relation to him, nor to Senator Jean Paul Prates. It's something from the Centrão (center-right bloc).

Therefore, there is no possible dispute as to its technical excellence. 

However, what most qualifies Mercadante is not his recognized technical competence. It is the fact that he is a great politician, a great public figure, who has a historical commitment to the development of Brazil and its people.

Contrary to what the conservative media, still contaminated by a neo-Udenist "Lava Jato" ideology that tends to criminalize and delegitimize political activity, claims, being a politician with such commitment (not to be confused with holding a political-party position) is fundamental to assuming high-level public functions.

In truth, when it is said in Brazil that positions must be filled by "technicians" instead of "politicians," what is really being said is that such positions must be taken on by people with a specific political-ideological profile. This profile consists of people committed to orthodox and conservative, now anachronistic, policies that are pleasing to the "market"—a hypostasis that can be translated by the metonymy of "Faria Lima" (a reference to the Faria Lima financial district in São Paulo).  

However, the political choice for orthodox and conservative policies, which had been made in 2018, has now been defeated. In 2022, the people chose something else. They chose a project founded on progressive and transformative policies. To delegitimize this choice, denying, a priori, its "technical viability," is something profoundly undemocratic.  

The social world, unlike the natural world, is not a given; it is constructed by human praxis. Within the limits of a historical time, different types of societies and economies can be built, depending on political choices. 

One can, for example, opt for an unequal society, for a primarily primary-exporting economy, and for a dependent and isolated country. Conversely, one can (and should) opt for a more egalitarian society, without poverty and hunger, for an industrialized and modern economy, and for a sovereign country, but one fully integrated into the world order.

Well, the Brazilian people chose a project for the reconstruction and transformation of the country that leads to the second option. They chose Lula. And, indirectly, they also chose Mercadante, who is committed to that project. 

Therefore, Mercadante is the right man not only because of his technical competence, but above all because he is aligned with this democratic choice. He was, in fact, one of the main architects of this project.

And Mercadante is in the right place.

BNDES, our major development bank, will be very important in ensuring that this project, this choice, can be realized. 

Indeed, within the context of the broken country inherited from Bolsonaro, afflicted by fiscal asphyxiation, and in a conflictive and restrictive external environment, financial mechanisms will play an important role in triggering growth stimuli.

Credit in Brazil is scarce and expensive. As a proportion of GDP, the volume of credit is around 50% of GDP. In Chile, it's around 120%. In the US, according to some estimates, it reaches 200% of GDP. Furthermore, our interest rates for end borrowers are much higher than those of many countries in the world.

In this context, having a public bank like BNDES, with the capacity to finance investments, especially long-term structural investments, is a crucial resource that cannot be wasted.

Therefore, BNDES needs to be revitalized in order to expand credit, contribute to making it cheaper, and thus stimulate economic growth, job creation, and the consequent increase in revenue, with the private sector as a major partner. 

This is not about going back to the past. It's about using the BNDES (Brazilian Development Bank) to build the future.

That is why the most enlightened sectors of the "market," those who want to produce competitively and modernize, support Mercadante.

Finally, Mercadante will take over BNDES at the right time.

The need to proceed with the so-called ecological transition and to "decarbonize" productive activities creates a historic opportunity for Brazil to industrialize on modern and digital bases.

As we know, our country has everything it takes to be a major "green power," perhaps the largest in the world. This potential could support our entry into the 4th Industrial Revolution, which is creating the economy and industry of the future.

However, this will not happen spontaneously. Large investments will be necessary, notably long-term structural investments, which are not of great interest to private finance, for this potential to be realized. 

The time is now. The race for the future has already begun, and Brazil cannot be left behind. 

Fortunately, we have individuals, both political and technical, like Mercadante, to lead this process. 

Uncertainty will not be dispelled by the mythical and elusive "confidence fairy" of orthodox policies, which never materializes. The uncertainty that inhibits private investment will be dispelled by concrete socially and environmentally sustainable development, stimulated by essential public-private partnerships.

This is the right path for the right man, in the right place, at the right time.