* Meirelles will think about political future over weekend * Lula may discuss Meirelles" future next week * Government source says he will step down from central bank (Recasts, adds Meirelles" comments)
By Isabel Versiani and Natuza Nery
BRASILIA, March 24 (Reuters) - Brazil"s central bank chief Henrique Meirelles said on Wednesday he would have to thinkabout his political future over the weekend as government andmarket participants prepare for his potential departure fromthe central bank by the end of next week.
Brazil"s longest-serving central bank president must stepdown from the helm of the country"s monetary authority byApril 3 if he decides to run for public office in the 2010national elections.
The central bank chief is expected to either run for theSenate or for the vice presidency as the running mate ofWorkers" Party presidential candidate Dilma Rousseff in theOctober elections -- if he steps down from the central bank.
"I will have to think about the matter over the weekend,"Meirelles told a press conference in Brasilia. "Let"s waituntil next week. I will speak to president (Lula)."
A government minister told Reuters on Wednesday thatMeirelles was on the verge of leaving the central bank.Another source told Reuters that a minister in Lula"s economicteam said Meirelles would leave the institution.
President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said earlier that hemay discuss the matter with Meirelles next week.
"Meirelles" situation is a personal one, and depends onhim entirely," Lula told reporters in Brasilia. "We maydiscuss that next week, but I don"t know if he wants to be acandidate, I really don"t know."
Meirelles, a former executive with FleetBoston Corp (whichhas since merged with Bank of America), has been credited bylocal and foreign investors with helping stabilize an economythat was on the verge of default when he took office inJanuary 2003. His policies helped bring inflation down to lessthan 5 percent from about 12 percent in 2002.
He helped the government refinance the bulk of its debt,improving terms and stretching out maturities. He alsopresided over a massive strengthening of the currency and theaccumulation of more than $240 billion in internationalreserves. (Additional Reporting by Fernando Exman; Writing by AnaNicolaci da Costa; Editing by Guillermo-Parrabernal and JanPaschal)
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