Announced for Secom (Secretariat of Communication) of the Lula government (), the publicist fired, this Thursday (9), the Press Secretary of the Presidency, José Chrispiniano.
He had advised Lula since March 2011, having worked with the current president during the tense time of the , including the caravans marked by the siege of Lula on his visits to the southern states of the country and the period of his imprisonment in Curitiba.
In his place, journalist Laércio Portela will be appointed, who temporarily occupied Secom when (PT), then holder of the portfolio, assumed a ministry dedicated to the restructuring of Rio Grande do Sul after the floods last May.
Sidônio himself has not yet been appointed to Secom, which should happen next week. Likewise, Chrispiniano’s dismissal will be made official in the coming days.
In the conversations that preceded the confirmation of his name, Sidônio obtained approval from the president to reassemble the communications team, including those secretaries who maintain a personal relationship with Lula and First Lady Janja da Silva.
Linked to Janja, the Secretary of Strategies and Networks, Brunna Rosa, is also expected to leave her position, in accordance with the expectations of the president’s allies. A member of the communications team of the mayor of Recife (PSB) must be appointed to take his place.
Despite their loyalty to the president, members of the Lula government and allies had been blaming Chrispiniano for not liking journalists, with responsibility for part of the communication difficulties faced by the government falling on him.
On Tuesday (7), he said that the government needs to improve digital communication, in his first speech as future minister of the department. The exchange had already been discussed since last year, but in a meeting on Tuesday morning.
“There is also an observation in the digital part, which people say, some even say that it is analogue. I think we need to evolve in this. It is a start, but there needs to be an evolution”, he said.
The area has been the target of criticism since last year, including from the president himself. At the beginning of December, he publicly criticized Secom, signaling for the change to be confirmed this Tuesday.
