"There Are No Reasons to Remove President Rousseff from Office," Says President of Itaú Unibanco

08/24/2015 - 09h12

One of the most influential voices among Brazilian businessmen, banker Roberto Setubal set out in forceful defense in favor of the permanence of President Dilma Rousseff in office.

An impeachment on the grounds of corruption, "judging by what I have seen so far, is not justified," said the president of Itaú Unibanco.

"Quite the contrary, what we have observed is that Rousseff has allowed a thorough investigation on the theme."

Another argument used by opposing parties, the government's maneuvers to improve the government accounts (fiscal maneuvering), could "deserve punishment," but they are not "a reason to remove the president from office," said Setubal.

The biggest private bank in Brazil, Itaú was strongly antagonized by the PT in the 2014 presidential campaign.

Setubal believes that removing President Rousseff from office now "would generate bad instability for our democracy."

Last week, figures of the economic sector held public demonstrations in favor of stability in Brazil.

Folha- President Rousseff is being threatened with impeachment, pressured to resign and demonstrations in the streets have been held against her administration. Do you see reasons to remove her from office?

Roberto Setubal- Nothing of what I have seen so far makes me believe there are conditions for an impeachment. On the grounds of corruption, judging by what I have seen so far, is not justified so far. There are no signs of her involvement with corruption schemes.
Quite the contrary, what we have observed is that Rousseff has allowed a thorough investigation on the theme [corruption at Petrobras]. It is hard to imagine an investigation in Brazil with so much independence. And President Rousseff deserves credit for it.

And what about the fiscal maneuvering?

That is a serious issue and it deserves some kind of punishment. But I don't believe it is a sufficient reason to remove her from office – especially because previous presidents underwent similar situations. It would be artificial to remove the president from office at this moment. It would generate bad instability for our democracy.

Businessmen say that, if Vice President Michel Temer became president in Rousseff's place, the country would have a chance of overcoming the crisis

You cannot remove a president from office because he or she is not popular momentarily. It is necessary to respect the rules of the game, to respect the constitution. I am in favor of the constitution.

How do you evaluate the behavior of opposing parties during this crisis?

I'm not going to talk about the opposition specifically. But what we need now is to discuss the country – nobody is discussing the country. There is a lot of discussion about power and little discussion about the country. We must debate what the necessary ways to make the country recover are. I only see a lot of discussion on power for power.

Businessmen believed Finance Minister Joaquim Levy was the ideal person to make Brazil overcome the economic crisis. Why hasn't he been successful?

He is doing the right things, but the positive effects of his actions haven't come yet. It goes way beyond a minister's capacity to solve all of the country's problems single-handedly. He needs political support both from the president and the congress.

The government has used public banks to save the economy again - a policy which was criticized by Minister Levy. Isn't that a sign that the minister has little power?

I don't see it as a direction adopted by the government - - if it doesn't go further, of course. I see it as an isolated measure, with little impact on the economy.

The Agenda Brasil, presented as a package of economic reforms to help boost the country, contains more than 40 measures. Should it be taken seriously?

Among those measures, there are steps that we must take, such as increasing taxes on several sectors' payrolls. But they are smaller measures to help the country and start overcoming the crisis.

In order to make the country grow at a fast pace again, we need broader reforms. But that wasn't addressed in the presidential camping last year, nor is it discussed in congress today.

Itaú Economists forecast a 1% decline in Brazil's G.D.P. next year. When do you believe the country will overcome the recession?

The economic situation is difficult, but I also look ahead and I see some things improving. The balance of trade has started to change and exports are growing. I believe the foreign sector will help in Brazil's recovery and there might be some surprises in that area. But I'm not sure yet if Brazil will have a negative G.D.P. next year.

Has there been an increase in the number of companies interested in selling their assets to face the crisis?

At this moment, those who are willing to acquire bigger assets have very interesting opportunities.

But who are the possible buyers?

Foreign investors, for example. The exchange rate adjustment increases their interest a lot. It is evident that Brazil has high risks at the moment, but there are very attractive things which could be acquired.

What do foreigners say about Brazil?
It is obvious that there is a lot of uncertainty regarding the current scenario, both in terms of politics and economics. But they also recognize that the exchange rate makes it interesting to invest in Brazil and they know that there is high payback in the assets for sale.
As the economy starts to show signs that it is recovering and the political scenario stabilizes, things tend to get better.

Translated by THOMAS MUELLO

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	Claudio Belli/Valor
	Banker Roberto Setubal is one of the most influential voices among Brazilian businessmen