The marketer, new minister of Secom (Secretariat of Communication), arrives at Palácio do Planalto as one of the president’s main advisors (), alongside the ministers (Casa Civil) and (Finance).
In the opinion of the president’s allies, the entry of the marketer, who takes office this Tuesday (14), changes the correlation of forces within the government, representing a strengthening of Rui Costa in the constant struggle he maintains against Haddad, especially over the agenda economic.
This dispute was already fought during the debate on the spending containment package, announced by Haddad in November. The Finance Minister resisted the idea of including the exemption in the announcement.
with support from Rui Costa and the president of PT, (PR). Two days before the statement by the head of the Treasury, Sidônio presented the president and ministers with a notebook with the advertising campaign to publicize the income tax exemption for those earning up to R$5,000. The notebook was collected after the presentation.
The advertisement was not aired because Haddad claimed that the proposal had not yet been sent to Congress. Despite this objection, the Minister of Finance announced the measure in a statement on national television — a demonstration of the advertiser’s power.
The president’s allies even claim that the Bahian wing of the government is strengthened with the appointment of the publicist — Rui Costa was governor of the state. His entry is also interpreted by Lula’s allies as a passport for the Minister of the Civil House to come into force as an alternative for Lula’s succession, whether in 2030 or 2026.
Other members of the government consider, however, that his inauguration will not be the work of the Bahian nucleus, but of the relationship he built directly with the president. In any case, there is a direct connection with the head of the Civil House.
According to members of the government, Rui Costa interceded so that Sidônio accepted the president’s invitation, in addition to defending the inclusion of the R$5,000 income tax exemption in the tax package, despite Haddad’s involvement.
In addition to the Finance Minister’s resistance to the announcement of a new IR table without prior debate in Congress, palace aides claim that Haddad’s way of communicating with the market and the press has generated noise.
According to these assistants, it was with Lula’s support that Sidônio reacted to Haddad’s criticism of the government’s communication in his post.
Sidônio needled the Minister of Finance, directly mentioning his name to say that the communication problems were not exclusive to Secom.
The marketer chose to respond to an interview given by the Minister of Finance the day before, in which Haddad said there were “serious problems” in the federal management’s communication. According to reports, even the president himself was bothered by this criticism. Sidônio said, in response, that communication was the task of the entire government.
Today, with Lula’s approval, your task will be to align the speech on the Esplanada. This would include , which has an independent strategy. There is a diagnosis that it is necessary to ensure that there is no more noise between what the ministries want and what the Planalto decides.
The IR discussion has been going on since the 2022 campaign, when the technical team resisted the inclusion of the goal in the president’s government program. The argument prevailed that the promise should appear in radio and TV advertising.
The marketer, according to allies, is known for being skilled in dealing, but without avoiding tough clashes. He showed this ability in the 2022 campaign, when he dodged obstacles put in place by members of Lula’s team.
One of the difficulties faced was not having access to the candidate’s networks to disseminate campaign pieces. The passwords were the responsibility of Lula’s advisors.
Three years later, Sidônio obtained carte blanche to dismiss the president’s former advisors (Press Secretary of the Presidency and Lula’s former assistant). The Secretary of Strategies and Networks, Brunna Rosa, will also leave.
Chrispiniano had the trust of Lula, whom he has followed for more than a decade. In government, the bet is that it will go to a state-owned company.
Brunna, in turn, worked in other PT governments and became close to the president during the election campaign. Furthermore, he has the trust of the first lady, Rosângela da Silva, the . She should be incorporated into the first lady’s team.
In his first interview after becoming official at Secom, the new minister set the tone for the changes, saying that he wants to have a good relationship with the press and that the government needs to improve in digital communication.
In Chrispiniano’s place, journalist Laércio Portela, current secretary of Institutional Communication, will enter. He became minister of Secom, when Paulo Pimenta took over the Rio Grande do Sul reconstruction secretariat.
Mariah Queiroz, who works with the social networks of the mayor of Recife, (PSB), will take over Brunna’s position.
