With Fernando Haddad’s decision to leave the Ministry of Finance next week, the current number 2, Dario Durigan, will take charge of the ministry. Haddad had been working behind the scenes for his executive secretary, which indicates a continuity of the economic policy guidelines implemented since the beginning of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s third term.
The future minister arrived at the Treasury in May 2023, to replace Gabriel Galípolo, appointed at the time to the Central Bank’s monetary policy directorate.
Durigan has a degree in Law from the University of São Paulo (USP) and a master’s degree in Law and Legal Research from the University of Brasília (UNB). Before assuming the role of Finance number, he was Head of Public Policies for WhatsApp, a Meta company, in Brazil.
He also had previous experience in public service, with stints at the Attorney General’s Office (AGU), at the Sub-Head for Legal Affairs of the Civil House, between 2011 and 2015, during the Dilma Rousseff government. Between 2015 and 2016, he was a special advisor to the City of São Paulo during Haddad’s administration.
Durigan’s place as executive secretary of Finance will be taken by the current Treasury secretary, Rogério Ceron. Ceron is one of the main people responsible for the fiscal framework, the main rule for managing the Lula government’s public accounts. The framework replaced the spending cap, allowing real spending growth of up to 2.5% per year — the cap limits expansion to the previous year’s inflation.
Like Durigan, the current Treasury Secretary has a long-standing relationship with the minister. Fiscal auditor for the municipality of São Paulo, Ceron participated in Haddad’s management at São Paulo city hall with different positions, starting as undersecretary of the Treasury and ending as secretary of Finance.
