By Brazil Stock Guide – Gabriel Galípolo, president of the Banco Central do Brasil, signed an international statement backing Jerome H. Powell, chair of the Federal Reserve System, as global central bankers moved to defend monetary policy independence following renewed attempts by U.S. President Donald Trump to interfere in the Fed’s decision-making.
The declaration, released on Jan. 13, 2026, brings together leaders from 12 major monetary authorities and stresses that central bank independence is a cornerstone of price stability, financial resilience and long-term economic confidence. The coordinated response followed public remarks by Powell on Jan. 11, in which he reaffirmed the Fed’s mandate amid political pressure from the White House.
Coordinated institutional response
Signatories include the heads of central banks from Europe, North America, the Asia-Pacific region and the Nordic countries, as well as senior leadership of the Bank for International Settlements. Among them are Christine Lagarde, president of the European Central Bank, Andrew Bailey, governor of the Bank of England, and central bank governors from Sweden, Denmark, Switzerland, Norway, Australia, Canada and South Korea. The BIS is represented by François Villeroy de Galhau and Pablo Hernández de Cos.
“Chair Powell has served with integrity, focused on his mandate and with an unwavering commitment to the public interest,” the statement said. “To us, he is a respected colleague held in the highest regard by all who have worked with him.”
What’s at stake
By signing the manifesto, Brazil aligns itself with the core of the global monetary governance framework at a time when political pressure on central banks is again testing institutional boundaries. Trump has repeatedly questioned the Fed’s independence and policy stance, reviving concerns among investors over the erosion of central bank autonomy in the world’s largest economy.