Just over a month before the first round of the elections, President Lula held a dinner at the Alvorada Palace on Monday evening to reinforce dialogue with the productive and financial sectors. The meeting lasted about three hours and brought together 16 major business leaders and bankers, in addition to the leadership of state-owned banks, Vice President Geraldo Alckmin and the government's economic team.
Among the executives present were Roberto Setúbal from Itaú, Luiz Carlos Trabuco from Bradesco, André Esteves from BTG Pactual, Joesley Batista from JBS, and Rubens Ometto from Cosan. The participants spoke about the outlook for their respective sectors and highlighted a common concern: the high level of interest rates in Brazil.
Control of public spending and the level of public debt were also central themes in the conversations. According to the article, in July public debt reached R$ 10.9 trillion, equivalent to 82.5% of GDP, the highest level in the last five years.
