Government seeks to change quarantine rules to prevent cases like Campos Neto and Nubank

247 – President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s government is considering tightening quarantine rules for former public officials, extending the restriction period from 6 to 18 months during which they are barred from representing private interests before the sector in which they served. The information was reported by the column in Folha de S.Paulo and confirms that the measure has been under discussion since July 2024 within the Public Ethics Commission (CEP) and the Ministry of Management. The proposal also includes maintaining compensatory remuneration only for the first six months.

The initiative is a direct response to recent episodes that exposed the fragility of current rules, such as the case of former Central Bank president Roberto Campos Neto, who, after leaving the monetary authority at the end of 2024, was quickly hired by Nubank as vice-chairman and global head of public policy. The episode raised red flags within the government and civil society sectors over the risks of the so-called "revolving door" — the practice whereby high-ranking state officials transition almost immediately into the private sector, taking with them sensitive knowledge, political influence, and privileged access.

In a Roda Viva interview in June 2024, the Minister of the Office of the Comptroller General (CGU), Vinicius Marques de Carvalho, had already publicly defended a longer quarantine period to prevent abuses. “The quarantine issue isn’t just about privileged information, right? We always need to think of the remedy in relation to the disease we want to cure,” said the minister, pointing to the ethical imbalance caused by these rapid transitions.

The Campos Neto case is particularly symbolic — and serious. After leading the Central Bank with formal autonomy but frequent alignment with financial market interests, his move to one of the country’s largest fintechs — which is regulated by the very authority he headed — is a clear example of conflict of interest. By accepting the Nubank position immediately after leaving the Central Bank, Campos Neto not only fueled suspicion about the neutrality of his decisions while in office, but also exposed the lack of effective ethical barriers between public and private sectors.

Criticism of the revolving door is not new, but gains renewed urgency in a context where large corporations seek to directly influence public policy by hiring former authorities. In the financial sector specifically, where information asymmetry can generate billions in profits, the unrestricted movement of former officials between regulatory roles and banks severely undermines institutional credibility and public trust.

The proposed change in quarantine rules thus represents an effort to restore integrity in public service and shield the state from corporate capture. However, the measure still needs to be translated into a robust bill with effective oversight, or it risks remaining a mere rhetorical gesture.

Cases like that of Campos Neto lay bare the urgent need to reform this system and make it clear that public interest cannot be treated as a gateway to private gain. Democracy suffers when its highest officials turn their positions into credentials for immediate personal profit in the private sector. The government is right to open the debate — now it must show the political will to ensure the new rules have real teeth.