Brazil's master of monetary policy, central bank chief Arminio Fraga, lost his calm demeanor for once on Tuesday in a rare outburst, slamming a left-wing lawmaker who accused the bank of not doing enough to cut interest rates. "Your argument is great, but most of it is demagoguery," said Fraga, who is widely credited with stabilizing Brazil's economy after a 1999 currency devaluation, during a regular Congressional hearing.

His comments came after Labour Party lawmaker Ricardo Berzoini said the