Three days before his inauguration, Brazil’s president-elect, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, has announced the last names that will form part of his new cabinet for the next four years, which includes the presence of up to nine different political forces, although his Workers’ Party (PT) has reserved the main positions of power in the Planalto.
Lula has confirmed this Thursday some of the names that have been sounding throughout these weeks, such as those of Senator Simone Tebet for Planning, Deputy Marina Silva, who returns to lead the Environment portfolio fourteen years later, and that of Sonia Guajajara as Minister of Indigenous Peoples.
«After an intense work, after many adjustments, we have just finished the government step», said Lula from the Banco do Brasil Cultural Center, where the transition work took place, which had been delayed more than expected due to the difficulties he had to content both traditional political allies and the improvised ones.
Among the latter are Tebet’s Brazilian Democratic Movement (MDB), the Social Democratic Party (PSD) and Union Brasil, formations that in the ideological framework oscillate between centrist and more conservative positions. In total, these three forces, which in theory did not support Lula, will have eight ministries.
In comparison with Lula’s first two governments, this time the PT will have fewer ministries, ten, although it will keep key portfolios, such as Finance, Education, Social Development, and those occupying the Planalto headquarters, such as the Civil House, the General Secretariat and Social Communication.
With these last appointments, the composition of Lula’s new government is the most fragmented of the three, with up to nine parties represented and eleven independents, which together account for 51 percent of the Chamber of Deputies and 55 percent of the Senate, although not all of them will give their support.
This is the most marked difference with the previous cabinets, in which the left-wing parties were almost exclusively represented. The current trend towards the center seems to comply not only with Lula’s campaign promises, but also with the various pacts he made with former enemy parties in order to gather the necessary support to defeat Bolsonaro.
Likewise, Lula’s new government is also the most parity with respect to the two previous ones, with up to eleven women for the five and four of previous mandates. However, the figure is less than half of men, 26.
One of these women is Simone Tebet, whose position in this government has been a constant source of rumors and speculation. She finally assumes Planning, after seeing her aspirations for the Environment and especially Social Development frustrated. Her party, the MDB, will keep Cities and Transport.
Agriculture, Mines and Energy, and Fishing, are the ministries that will be led by the PSD, while the other conservative force in the new cabinet, Unione Brasileiro, will keep the portfolios of National Integration, Tourism and Communications.
On the other hand, with a view to the inauguration which will take place this Sunday in Brazil, Lula da Silva has invited «everybody» to attend, guaranteeing that there will be no «tumults», in a context of recognized concern among his team for the security of the event in view of the last strong and violent protests.
«Don’t worry, there will be no riots. Those who have lost the elections should stay quiet and those who have won, have the right to have a great popular party here in Brasilia», said Lula during the presentation of his latest ministers at the headquarters of the Banco do Brasil Cultural Center.
Source: (EUROPA PRESS)
