Brazil development bank chief quits, fuelling political crisis

17 Jun 2019 05:13AM

RIO DE JANEIRO: The head of Brazil's powerful state development bank quit on Sunday (Jun 16), a day after far-right President Jair Bolsonaro threatened to sack him, fuelling a political crisis engulfing the government.

BNDES president Joaquim Levy, a Chicago-educated economist and former finance minister in the left-wing government of ex-president Dilma Rousseff, submitted his resignation to Economy Minister Paulo Guedes after Bolsonaro said he had a "price on his head."

"I thank the minister for his invitation to serve the country and I wish for success in the reforms," Levy said in a statement.

Levy's sudden departure follows a tumultuous week for a troubled government less than six months into its term, in which Bolsonaro fired his third minister, retired general Carlos Alberto dos Santos Cruz, who had clashed with Bolsonaro's sons, and then sacked the head of Brazil's postal service.

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