The president () met this Friday (20) ministers and government leaders at the National Congress at Palácio da Alvorada in a mix of a meeting and an end-of-year get-together, amid pressure from deputies for more space in the government.
It is already taken for granted in Brasília that, at the beginning of next year, a ministerial reform will take place. Lula, despite not having spoken directly about this at the meeting, reinforced the possibility of change in communication, by inviting marketer Sidônio Palmeira to the meeting – he is tipped to replace Paulo Pimenta (PT) at Secom (Secretariat of Social Communication of the Presidency) .
It was Sindônio, in fact, who did it alongside the future president of the Central Bank, Gabriel Galípolo, shortly before lunch with ministers.
When talking about the importance of 2025, Lula said it was natural for there to be changes. Some ministers understood this to be a sign of ministerial reform, others, more of a fiscal issue, according to reports collected by the report.
Unlike traditional ministerial meetings, this one took place at the president’s official residence and was accompanied by lunch. Lula’s speech was not broadcast, as usual, but he spoke about the spending package and made gestures to the financial market.
The leadership of the Chamber of Deputies defends that the president intensifies his participation in the coordination of the government and also wants to be included in the ministerial reform. They estimate that Lula will have to make changes to the seats at Palácio do Planalto, currently occupied by PT members, if he wants to improve his relationship with Congress.
Congressmen from the center also complain about the concentration of ministries in the final area with members of the PT, while the party has a bench that represents around 15% of the 513 seats in the Chamber.
They also say that, in these ministerial exchanges, it is necessary to consider that the context today is different from the beginning of the Lula government and, above all, the vote at that time.
On that occasion, the PT member distributed nine ministries to obtain the support of three center and right-wing parties that do not belong to the centrão, the PSD, the MDB and União Brasil. In 2023, it attracted two acronyms from the center, the PP and the Republicans, with two more ministries.
In the opinion of a cardinal in the center, this configuration of the Esplanada has not been “balanced” since the transition. Now, this is even more evident, according to him, with the deliveries of each party in the National Congress votes and their representation on the Esplanada.
Lula thanked the meeting for his ministers’ commitment to approving the spending package, which ended up being dehydrated in Congress. He mentioned by name the head of the Treasury, Fernando Haddad (PT), and the head of the Institutional Relations Secretariat, Alexandre Padilha (PT).
The spending containment proposal proposed by Lula on Thursday (19) reinforced the need for Lula to improve his relationship with the Legislature. The direct consequence of the weakening of measures was the reduction of savings for public coffers.
Congressmen shielded mandatory amendments against blockages, in the BPC (Continuous Payment Benefit) and excluded the measure that would allow the Union.
Even with the concessions, the government needed to reinforce coordination, highlight one and to obtain the necessary support for the package to advance in both Houses this year.
The ministers arrived and were tested for Covid, because the first lady, Janja, and the Chief Minister of the Civil House, Rui Costa (PT), had the disease last week, but tested negative before the meeting. Some brought flowers as a gift, like the Minister of Administration, Esther Dweck.
The representative, at the beginning of the meeting, called Simone Tebet (MDB), head of Planning, Haddad and Costa to watch the video recording with Gabriel Galípolo, who will be the head of the Central Bank, in the Alvorada library. According to reports, they were taken by surprise.
Afterwards, everyone went to lunch, which took place at round tables in the palace hall. Galípolo, for example, was between the Union’s attorney general, Jorge Messias, and the Union’s controller general, Vinicius Carvalho.
In his brief speech, he repeated that it is time for “harvest”, without new announcements, and that fiscal space must be respected. He recalled that he delivered his other governments with a surplus.
According to reports, he also spoke about the importance of defending democracy, and said he was still happy with the arrest order against Walter Braga Netto, a four-star general arrested for involvement in a coup attempt in 2022.
Lula also stated that he wants to hold a new act for democracy on January 8, in reference to the coup attacks that destroyed the headquarters of the three Powers in Brasília, in 2023.
This Friday’s meeting also had a more relaxed atmosphere than previous ones, with specific demands and a friendly tone.
As he spoke about the international agenda, including the holding of the , Lula turned to the head of the General Secretariat of the Presidency, Márcio Macedo, to state that the social version of the conference, under the responsibility of the minister, had left something to be desired.
This public criticism was understood as a message that Macêdo could be replaced. His folder is pointed out as a possible destination for Pimenta.
The president also asked Minister Nísia Trindade (Health) to reinforce More Access to Specialists, a program that has already been launched, but has not yet reached the entire country.
Janja was the only person, besides Lula, to speak. In her speech, she said that she was very happy to be at the president’s side and described what the days of hospitalization in São Paulo were like. She said she felt a sense of accomplishment in bringing the president back well.
Normally, the ministerial meeting takes place at Palácio do Planalto, but the president has not yet left his place of work since returning from São Paulo. He had to travel to have emergency surgery for a head bleed, and was out of Brasília for more than a week.
After being cleared by doctors, on Thursday, he returned to the capital and rested at the official residence. The only restriction on the president, according to the medical team, is physical exercise.
This was the third meeting of the year. In the first, in March, he called for reducing food prices, expanding credit for the poorest part of the population and boosting investments.
In August, in turn, Lula allowed his assistants to support candidates in this year’s municipal elections, but suggested that attacks on opponents be avoided.
