Bank Chief, Other Economic Officials Resign in Brazil
Brazil’s Central Bank president and other top economic officials resigned Thursday, a day after the economy minister quit under fire from business, labor and foreign creditors.
Economy Minister Zelia Cardoso de Melo’s resignation Wednesday followed a 14-month battle to control spiraling inflation and prop up declining industries. Her policies, which included a freeze on bank accounts, angered many Brazilians.
Central Bank President Ibrahim Eris, his entire staff and the secretary of economic policy, Antonio Kandir, announced their resignations at a news conference Thursday in Brasilia.
Eduardo Teixeira, head of the powerful Infrastructure Ministry, also resigned. The ministry combines the functions of energy, transport and communications and is responsible for the companies in Brazil’s huge state sector.
Marcilio Marques Moreira, 59, Brazil’s ambassador to the United States, was named the new economy minister. Francisco Gross, 49, a former Central Bank president, was nominated to replace Eris.
The appointment of Moreira, a former banker, could herald improved relations between Brazil, the largest Third World debtor nation, and its numerous foreign creditors.
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