The Minister of Tourism, Gustavo Feliciano, began changing positions in the portfolio he assumed on December 23, after the departure of Celso Sabino. Feliciano appointed Fernanda Câmara Norat to the position of Executive Secretary and dismissed Ana Clara Machado Lopes.
With a degree in Tourism, Fernanda was a parliamentary secretary in the office of federal deputy Damião Feliciano (União-PB), the minister’s father. According to records from the Chamber’s administrative bulletin, Norat had two stints in the parliamentarian’s office: from April 2018 to February 2019; and then from April 2022 until September 2023. Now, she will be number 2 in the portfolio.
On the União Brasil website, Fernanda is listed as a member of the party’s state directory in Paraíba. The acronym prohibited members from holding positions in the government, which led to the expulsion of former minister Celso Sabino.
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Official note from the Ministry of Tourism highlights that Fernanda worked in the Government of the State of Paraíba where she worked in the Secretariat of Tourism and Economic Development. She was also secretary of the State Council for Tourism Development (Condetur) and executive secretary of the State of Culture of Paraíba. Gustavo Feliciano is close to the governor of Paraíba, João Azevêdo (PSB), for whom he was Secretary of Tourism in his first administration.
The new minister also fired the deputy executive secretary, Sandro de Vargas Serpa, in addition to the director of the Department of Marketing, Events and Digital Expansion of the National Secretariat for Tourism Policies, Fábio Augusto Oliveira Pinheiro. The Official Gazette has not yet published the names of the replacements, which are being analyzed by the Civil House. New exchanges continue to be evaluated by Feliciano.
Father of the new minister, federal deputy Damião Feliciano is part of the wing most closely linked to the government within the party and acts as one of Planalto’s deputy leaders in the Chamber. Gustavo Feliciano’s arrival at Tourism is an attempt by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva to attract part of the Centrão to the re-election campaign next year and improve the relationship with the president of the Chamber, Hugo Motta (Republicanos-PB), who approved the choice.
Feliciano and Motta are allies. At the inauguration ceremony, on December 23, the minister made direct mention of Motta’s support for the state of Paraíba, and said that the “Ministry of Tourism is his home”:
— A special highlight that I would like to make for the greatest leader of my state, which at this moment is not only from Paraíba, but from Brazil, the president of the Chamber of Deputies, Hugo Motta. President Hugo, a man from Paraíba taking over the Ministry of the Republic is an indisputable reflection of his discreet, but undeniable, strong leadership. The Ministry of Tourism is your home, because Paraíba is grateful for your support — said the new minister.
