The government of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) will leave the appointment of the two new names to the leadership of the Central Bank until 2026. Whoever is chosen will assume the positions currently occupied by the directors Diogo Guillen, of Economic Policy, and Renato Gomes, of Organization of the Financial System and Resolution, whose mandates expire on December 31.
The turbulent climate between the Executive and the Senate since Lula appointed Jorge Messias to the STF (Federal Supreme Court) and the tight deadline until the end of the year led to the postponement of the definition of the new directors of BC. For example, there were fears of political contamination of future names.
The law on the autonomy of the Central Bank, approved in 2021, establishes that the appointment of administrators is the responsibility of the President of the Republic. Subsequently, the elected officials go through a hearing and a vote within the CAE (Economic Affairs Committee) of the Senate. The names are then submitted to the plenary of the House for approval.
As the legislative year ends on the 22nd, even if the government decided to formalize the names in the National Congress this year, there would not be enough time to perform all the rites in the Senate, including the traditional “hand kiss”, during which candidates meet with senators to collect votes for approval.
The legislation also provides that the term of office of directors extends until their successors take office in their respective positions. However, the directors themselves can request the dismissal of their functions. In practice, it is up to them to decide whether or not to extend the duration of their stay at the head of the BC after the end of their mandate.
According to people interviewed by LeafGuillen and Gomes chose not to continue their activities after the 31st. They are the last two BC administrators appointed by former President Jair Bolsonaro (PL).
While the positions in the economic policy and financial system organization directorates remain vacant, the functions in these areas will be temporarily absorbed by other members of the current board of directors.
When contacted, BC said it would not comment on the matter.
As the 2026 legislative year does not begin until February 2, the departure of administrators without planning for their replacements to take office will affect the quorum of the next meeting of the Copom (Monetary Policy Committee), scheduled for January 27 and 28. Taking into account the absences, seven of the nine members of the British Columbia board will attend the meeting.
The situation is not unprecedented. In May 2023, for example, Copom discussed the level of the base interest rate (Selic) also with two fewer participants.
Bruno Serra left the directorate of monetary policy in March, almost a month after the expiration of his mandate. His successor in this position, Gabriel Galípolo, was appointed by the government just a few days after this collegial meeting. Furthermore, the director of administration, Carolina de Assis Barros, had to leave for personal reasons.
The departure of Guillen and Gomes should not, however, affect British Columbia’s strategy regarding the evolution of interest rates, since all decisions taken this year have been unanimous.
In 2025, there was a change of three members, and the Copom is now composed mainly of representatives appointed by Lula, with seven of the nine members.
The last split in the committee occurred in May 2024, generating noise that undermined the credibility of the monetary authority. Since then, efforts have been made to reach consensus within the BC college.
On this occasion, Copom voted by 5 votes to 4 for a reduction of 0.25 percentage points, forming a majority with the administrators appointed or reappointed by Bolsonaro, including Guillen and Gomes. Lula’s elected officials, in turn, voted for a reduction of 0.50 points. Among them, Galípolo, who at the time was still considered president.
The audition of Galípolo – now president of the Central Bank – for the post of director of monetary policy only took place in July. During this period, there was a Copom meeting in June with a reduced quorum, in this case with eight of the nine members.
The absence of one or more participants does not affect the dynamics of the Copom meeting, which defines the level of interest rates by simple majority, but the change comes at a key moment for the direction of the country’s monetary policy.
This Wednesday (10), the commission kept the Selic rate set at 15% per year for the fourth consecutive meeting, closing 2025 with interest rates at the highest level in almost two decades.
In the press release, Copom did not indicate the next steps and remained uncertain about the start of the coming interest rate reduction cycle. However, part of the financial market expects the cuts to begin at the January meeting.
Lula has not yet lifted the hammer on the names that will be chosen by the government for the board of directors of the Central Bank. One of the possibilities under study, according to two sources familiar with the matter, would be to redirect director Paulo Picchetti, who currently heads the international affairs sector, to Guillen’s position.
He was previously coordinator of the Price Index at Fipe (Fundação Instituto de Pesquisas Econômicas) and, before going to British Columbia, he coordinated the IPC-S (Consumer Price Index – Weekly) at FGV Ibre, being recognized by his peers as an authority on the subject. He also maintained relations with Minister Fernando Haddad (Finance).
The trend is that Picchetti temporarily absorbs the activities of the economic policy directorate at the beginning of the year, according to a source heard by Leaf.
Other names are circulating among the “betting exchange” sides of the market, such as Tiago Cavalcanti, professor and member of Trinity College at the University of Cambridge, and Thiago Ferreira, researcher at the Fed (Federal Reserve, the American central bank).
To replace Gomes in the Financial System Organization and Resolution department, the possibility of appointing a career employee in British Columbia is being discussed.
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