The street protests that rocked Brazil last month put inflation – and the central bank – centre stage in the country's politics, according to a former governor of the Central Bank of Brazil, Gustavo Franco.

The central bank's monetary policy committee, the Copom, this week raised its policy interest rate by 50 basis points, as expected, to 8.50%. Inflation is running above target and the real has depreciated sharply in recent weeks, leading Société Générale economists to predict another 50bp