The Brazilian Democratic Movement (MDB) wants an important place for Simone Tebet in the new government of President-elect Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, and the Ministry of Citizenship, in charge of organizing important social programs such as Auxilio Brasil and registering low-income families, is the option they would opt for.
This ministry is the merger of several portfolios such as Culture, Sports and Social and Agrarian Development and has a budget of one billion dollars. The circle close to Tebet, third choice among Brazilians in the first round, maintains that she deserves a prominent place in the government, reports ‘O Globo’.
Thus, although her name has been mentioned for other portfolios such as Environment, Agriculture or Women, none of them are in her plans. On the other hand, sources close to Lula da Silva maintain that it is in Tebet’s hands to be a minister in the new government and that she will be free to choose her position.
For the moment, the presence of the MDB is already confirmed for the transition process. This Monday the party will choose a name to be part of the team that will help the transfer of power, becoming the first center force to which a Workers’ Party (PT) government opens its doors.
There is consensus in the MDB as to who should be the visible figures of the party within the organizational cadres of the new government. Besides Tebet, the deputy Luiz Felipe Baleia and the governor elect of Pará, Helder Barbalho, are those who could assume new responsibilities under Lula’s command.
The MDB will use its privileged position to negotiate against other formations leaning more to the right, such as Union Brasil and the Social Democratic Party (PSD), with which the PT has to reach an agreement to achieve governability in one of the most conservative congresses of the last decades.
