Trade union centers rally in São Paulo against high interest

Trade union centers staged Tuesday (Mar. 1) a protest against high interest outside the Central Bank building, at Paulista Avenue. The rally was deliberately scheduled to coincide with the beginning of the Central Bank's Monetary Policy Committee (COPOM) meeting, aimed at setting the benchmark interest rate.

According to Força Sindical (FS) vice-President Miguel Torres, the demonstration staged on the same day as the COPOM meeting is traditional among trade union organizations aimed at urging the committee not to raise—or even to reduce—the interest rate. “The rate today stands at 14.25%, the world's highest. There are countries with a negative rate, in an attempt to stimulate investment in production, and Brazil's going against this logic.”

Josimar Andrade, head of the Sindicato dos Comerciários da União Geral dos Trabalhadores (UGT), stressed that the drawing of the agenda for the meeting is an old controversy, as trade union centers are not willing to accept what he described as a policy detrimental to employment, referring to it as “Central Bank's equivocal policy.”

Ubiraci Dantas de Oliveira, president of the Central Geral dos Trabalhadores do Brasil (CGTB), argues the demonstration is necessary, as “no one can take it anymore.” “The unemployed amount to 9 million people. Factories are closing their doors, or leaving, increasing the army of the jobless. Meanwhile, dengue fever, chikungunya, and Zika are still spreading across Brazil. Also, conditions for education and health care are precarious. That's why we've come here to fight this interest rate,” he declared.

During the rally, which was staged under rainy weather and lasted approximately one hour, protesters handed out bananas to passers-by.

COPOM's meeting ends Wednesday (2).

Translated by Fabrício Ferreira