Brazil backs IMF aid for Greece and recalls representative Brazil's IMF representative, Paulo Nogueira Batista Brazil reversed its hardline stance on Greece's bailout on Thursday, saying it had not authorised its representative to the International Monetary Fund to withhold support for the latest aid to Athens. Guido Mantega, the country's finance minister, said it was a "mistake" for Brazil's representative, Paulo Nogueira Batista, to abstain on the €1.8bn tranche of aid. Mr Mantega said he fully supported the IMF's efforts to supply financial aid to Greece. "[Mr Nogueira Batista] did not consult the government, nor was he authorised by us to vote in this manner and the finance minister has ordered him to return to Brazil immediately to explain himself," Brazil's finance ministry said on Thursday. "The finance minister spoke to the managing director of the IMF, Christine Lagarde, just now over the phone, expressing his support for the [financial aid] programme," it said. The finance minister's comments came a day after Mr Nogueira Batista, who also represents 10 other Central and South American countries on the IMF board, released a scathing statement revealing that he had refused to back new aid for Greece. He argued that Athens might be unable to repay its rescue loans, accusing some of the IMF's own economists of making "over-optimistic" assumptions about economic growth and the sustainability of Greek debt. His abstention during the vote on Monday had no direct impact on the latest €1.8bn instalment as it was approved for payment anyway but the move was seen as Brazil taking a stand against the IMF in the name of other developing nations. Brazil has been one of the most outspoken critics of the IMF since it became a net creditor of the fund in 2009, often showing its frustration with the organisation's policy of rescuing debt-laden Europeans. Mr Mantega's statement was met with some disbelief among political consultants in Brazil, given that the finance minister has been among the most vocal of the IMF's critics. As well as leading efforts to create a rival development bank funded by the Brics - Brazil, Russia, China and South Africa - emerging economies in March, Mr Mantega has frequently complained about the damage that US stimulus measures have done to emerging economies. Paulo Kramer, a political scientist with the University of Brasília, said Mr Mantega's latest position may be a sign of his political weakness after almost three-years of subpar growth and amid calls for him to resign. "He knows he is hanging by a thread," Mr Kramer said. Probably someone warned him to tone it down, to change his rhetoric about the first world always taking actions that damage the developing world. Mr Nogueira Batista, who was put forward for the IMF job by Mr Mantega in 2007 and already known in Brazil for his criticisms of the fund, could not be reached for comment after the finance ministry's statement. However, the economist had released a second, shorter statement on Wednesday, in what some saw as an attempt to mollify the public reaction to his first. Mr Nogueira Batista said although he represented other countries in the region, his decision to abstain from the latest vote on Greek aid should not be attributed to them.