Brazil’s Senate to Vote on Central Bank Nomination

BRASILIA (Reuters) – Brazil’s Senate is set to vote on the nomination of Gabriel Galipolo, current director of the central bank, as the new chief of the monetary authority on October 8. This announcement came from Rodrigo Pacheco, the chief of the upper house, on Wednesday.

Prior to the Senate’s confirmation vote, Galipolo’s nomination by President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva must first be discussed in a Senate committee hearing, which has yet to be scheduled.

Lula’s administration aimed to expedite the confirmation process before the upcoming rate-setting committee meeting on September 17-18; however, it has encountered resistance from lawmakers who prefer to delay until after the municipal elections in early October.

The government revealed last week the widely anticipated nomination of Galipolo, currently the director of monetary policy, to succeed Roberto Campos Neto as central bank governor, as Campos Neto’s term concludes in December.