Haddad said the government does not want to anticipate a debate on changing inflation targets, adding that will happen once future targets are to be defined. Typically, the National Monetary Council (CMN), consisting of the finance minister, planning minister, and the central bank governor, decides the annual inflation target three years in advance at its June meeting. Amid repeated criticism from Lula on the current level of interest rates, which have been kept steady at a six-year high of 13.75% since September, Haddad said dialogue with the central bank is ongoing in a "challenging scenario" due to the bank's formal autonomy. He expressed confidence that the new leftist government will manage to stabilize macroeconomic indicators, allowing for "monetary policy consistent with fiscal policy." Haddad also defended the viability of the primary budget targets established in its recently presented fiscal framework, including zeroing the deficit by 2024, arguing that the results will be achieved mainly by correcting significant tax distortions rather than through tax or rate increases.
He said the broad consumer debt renegotiation program, called Desenrola, is waiting for development of its operational system, a task that the Brazilian stock exchange B3 will carry out. (Reporting by Marcela Ayres; editing by Jonathan Oatis and Bill Berkrot)
