Meirelles doesn't know what's worse: being associated with the banks or with Temer.
Former Temer minister Henrique Meirelles expresses frustration at having his name associated with the banker; the former president of BankBoston, the presidential candidate for the MDB party (Temer's party), tries to remind people that he was president of the Central Bank (BC) during Lula's government and that he should also be held responsible for the years when the Brazilian economy was in a much better situation than it is today; Meirelles recalls that many people rose to the middle class under his management at the BC, but without mentioning Lula.
247 - Former Temer minister Henrique Meirelles expresses frustration at having his name associated with the banker. The former president of BankBoston, the presidential candidate for the MDB party (the same party as Temer), tries to remind people that he was president of the Central Bank (BC) during Lula's government and that he should also be held responsible for the years when the Brazilian economy was in a much better situation than it is today. Meirelles mentions that many people rose to the middle class under his management at the BC, but without mentioning Lula.
Regarding the number of members affiliated with the MDB, his party, who have legal problems, Meirelles states: "[There is] no problem whatsoever, firstly because my record speaks for itself. I have no lawsuits, no accusations, and no investigations. Zero. I am the candidate... isn't there a candidate for the homeless? I am the one without lawsuits. And without accusations or investigations either."
Meirelles also spoke about his relationship with the Batista brothers, of JBS: "That's fine, it has nothing to do with me. I worked for 30 years at Bank of Boston, in addition to ten years of public service, 30 years in an institution of unquestionable international reputation. First of all, I never worked with JBS. I provided consulting guidance for the development of Banco Original's digital platform." I never gave advice to JBS. At that time, I was the chairman of the board of Lazard Americas, a bank based in New York with a very high reputation; I was chairman of the board of Lloyds of London; I was a member of the board of Azul airlines; and I was also an advisor to KKR, the largest investment firm in the world. In fact, I think it's good to discuss my career because I'll be comparing it to others'."
Finally, Meirelles mentions the social area: "In these positions, I didn't just look at the highest income bracket. The first thing I mentioned to you was how many people escaped poverty and entered the middle class, so my focus... And that was during Lula's government. I not only had a dialogue in these areas, but the more I focused on it, studying what to do, what kind of things would generate more jobs. There's no doubt that social programs in my administration will be strengthened and expanded."