The president () swore in this Tuesday (23) the new Minister of Tourism, Gustavo Feliciano, 42, in a ceremony at Palácio do Planalto.
Feliciano arrived at the post after , in an attempt to reorganize the government base. He is the son of Damião Feliciano (-PB) and the former governor of Paraíba Lígia Feliciano () and was secretary of Tourism and Economic Development in his state.
Before the ceremony, politicians allied with the government interviewed by the Sheet They said they did not know the new minister.
Feliciano said in his speech that he assumes the main mission of his life and demonstrated alignment with the Lula government’s guidelines. “Tourism cannot be just for the rich. Tourism has to be for everyone.” The President of the Republic, as is customary in ministerial inaugurations, did not speak.
The new minister also mentioned the sectors of União Brasil that support his appointment. “I want to thank the União Brasil wing for the trust, through its leader, Pedro Lucas [MA].” Furthermore, he praised the president of , (-PB), who also attended the inauguration.
“President Hugo, a Paraíba native assuming a ministry of the Republic is an indisputable reflection of his discreet, but undeniable, strong leadership. The Ministry of Tourism is his home because Paraíba is grateful for his support”, he declared.
Lula officially invited Feliciano to take over the ministry last Thursday (18), in an event at Palácio do Planalto. Motta participated in the meeting. Both the new minister and the president of the Chamber are from the same state, Paraíba.
The presidents of the Chamber and the Republic are experiencing a moment of rapprochement after a year with ups and downs in their political relationship.
The president of the Chamber indicated in his speech that he supports the appointment. “Your decision [Lula] to respond to the nomination of Gustavo Feliciano, above all, demonstrates his political capacity and his ability to bring together”, he declared.
Motta also stated that Congress never failed the Lula administration. “The government ends the year much better than it started.”
Former minister Sabino and ministers such as (Institutional Relations), (Ports and Airports) and (General Attorney’s Office of the Union) also attended, in addition to the vice-president.
Sabino thanked Lula for his time as minister and indicated that he remains an ally of the President of the Republic. “I am at your complete disposal, always,” said the former Minister of Tourism, who intends to run for a seat in the Senate in next year’s election.
The appointment of Gustavo Feliciano includes the Lulist wing of the União Brasil bench of deputies. The new minister, however, is without a party. Sabino, his predecessor, for having continued in government after the acronym.
Despite this, União Brasil continues to have 20 to 22 deputies closest to Lula — in total, the group has 59 members. This group includes the former minister (MA), the leader of the bench, Pedro Lucas Fernandes (MA) and Damião Feliciano. The president of the party, Antonio Rueda, endorsed the movement.
Lula informed the other members of the government about Sabino’s departure last week during a ministerial meeting. The former minister later said that his former party had requested the appointment of a new occupant for the position.
In Sabino’s assessment, the appointment to the position demonstrates that União Brasil, which announced the disembarkation of the Lula administration in September, is now back at base. The former minister avoided commenting on whether he sees inconsistency in the back-and-forth of his former party in relation to the government and said he left that reading to the commentators.
Members of União Brasil, however, denied to the Panel, Sheetand point out that he is not formally linked to the party, which has a wing opposing Lula.
Although it does not mean a reconstitution of Rueda with Lula, members of the União Brasil leadership affirm that Feliciano’s appointment could be the beginning of an armistice and a greater rapprochement.
The party intended to support the presidential candidacy of the governor (Republicans) together with the PP, with the senator (-RJ) throwing himself into Planalto. Now, , and some of its leaders have started to defend neutrality.
