Brazil Super Minister Shoulders Weight of Bolsonaro Economy

Paulo Guedes once told a gathering of finance-industry elite that the Federal Reserve was a “serial bubble-maker” and Alan Greenspan was “jeopardizing Western civilization.” Thinking back on the event years later, he called his comments about the former Fed chairman, who was sitting in the audience at the time, “incisive and objective.”

That’s the kind of unwavering self-confidence Guedes will bring with him when he takes over Jan. 1 as a “Super Minister” and the top financial adviser to Brazil President-elect Jair Bolsonaro, who won a decisive victory on Sunday. But it’s also the trait critics say borders on arrogance, which could be an obstacle to implementing an economic agenda that’s riding mostly on his shoulders.