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On Wednesday (29/06), Caixa Econômica Federal President Pedro Guimarães resigned after a series of Caixa employees came forward to accuse him of sexual harassment. Pedro has held the presidency of Caixa since the beginning of the current government. On the same day, President Jair Bolsonaro announced that Guimarães will be replaced by Daniella Marques Consentino, secretary of Productivity and Competitiveness in the Economy Ministry.
The New President
The new president of Caixa worked for years in the financial market, in the area of independent management of investment funds, accompanied by Minister Guedes. She was his partner at Bozano Investimentos, where she served as Director of Compliance and Operations and Finance (COO and CFO). According to media sources, Marques’ nomination was also influenced by the government’s need for to try to improve its image with the female electorate, especially after complaints of harassment at Caixa.
Investigation
The Federal Public Prosecutor’s Office (MPF) will investigate whether more Caixa Econômica directors are involved in allegations of sexual or moral harassment or if they have covered up the practice within the bank. The MPF is already investigating the former president of Caixa Pedro Guimarães for sexual harassment.
Repercussions to the Reelection Campaign
Political commentators evaluated that the allegations of sexual harassment at Caixa Econômica Federal, which overthrew the bank’s president, Pedro Guimarães, should not take votes away from President Jair Bolsonaro, but it will make it difficult to win new voters, especially among women. According to journalists, politicians that are giving support to Bolsonaro in his reelection campaign believed that the complaints were an opportunity for the President to improve his image among the female electorate. Therefore, they defended that the president of Caixa was fired, and that Bolsonaro had publicly positioned himself in defense of the bank’s employees. However, he decided to only accept Guimarães resignation.
