Former federal deputy, Queiroz is state president of the PDT (Democratic Labor Party) in Pernambuco; Integrated the government transition team in 2022
The new Minister of Social Security, 52, by the President (PT) on Friday (2.MAI.2025). Affiliated to the PDT (Democratic Labor Party), the former federal deputy assumes the ministry after.
Executive Secretary of the Ministry of Social Security, Wolney Queiroz is from the base combined with the government. He has been affiliated with the PDT since 1992 and is the current party’s state president in Pernambuco. He began his political career as a councilman in Caruaru (PE) the following year.
At 21, he was elected federal deputy for Pernambuco. Shortly thereafter, he was chosen vice-leader of the party in the House of Representatives. He worked at Casa Baixa for 6 consecutive terms, from 1995. He tried the reelection in 2022, but did not get enough votes for a new term.
Queiroz was the leader of opposition to the (PL) government in the House in his last year of office. In 2022, he supported a strike by INSS (National Institute of Social Security) employees through their social networks. Accused the Bolsonaro government of leaving essential services without resources.
“Bolsonaro detonated the public coffers to buy the reelection, has been defeated, and now the public machine is collapsing. [7.dez.2022]the INSS has stated that it will paralyze its activities for lack of resources. The question that remains is: where is the institute money, Bolsonaro? ”, The then deputy on his profile at X.
During his time in the House, Queiroz presided over the committees of education and culture, work and administration and public service. According to his, the new minister has worked in defense of consumer rights, against slave labor and against the withdrawal of rights. It also represented Brazil in international conferences of the ILO (International Labor Organization).
Queiroz has a political trajectory linked to Carlos Lupi, national president of the PDT and his predecessor in charge of the Ministry of Social Security. Both participated together in various events – one of the latest was in Recife (PE) in February, in an act by the governor of Pernambuco (PSD). In 2022, Queiroz also joined the transition team between the governments of Bolsonaro and Lula after an appointment of Lupi.
Operation without discount
The PF launched on April 23 the operation to investigate an INDE Discounts on Retirement and Pensions of the INSS. The action served 211 search and seizure court orders and 6 temporary arrest warrants in the Federal District and 13 states.
According to the PF, the investigation identified irregularities in the discounts of associative monthly fees applied to social security benefits, especially retirement and pensions, granted by the INSS.
The government reported that by 2023 the CGU (Comptroller General of the Union) began a series of findings on the increase in the number of entities and discounted values of retirees. From this process, audits were made in 29 entities that had ACTs (technical cooperation agreements) with the INSS. There were also interviews with 1,300 retirees who presented discounts on the payroll.
According to the government, CGU identified that the entities had no operational structure to provide the services offered to beneficiaries. Of the interviewees, most said they did not authorize discounts. The controllership also found that 70% of the 29 entities analyzed had not delivered full documentation to the INSS.
In the operation, 6 people were removed from their duties, including the then president of the INSS ,.
