The president () meets his team this Tuesday (31) to reaffirm the need to defend the government’s actions. The guidance will be especially addressed to ministers who will leave their positions to run in the October elections.
In this farewell, Lula must recommend the defense of his legacy, in addition to thanking him for his work. About to leave the government to run for the Senate in Bahia, the head of the Civil House, (PT), will take stock of his achievements.
According to the president’s assistants, the idea is to provide colleagues with deliveries from the entire Esplanada, and not just their portfolios. Thus, the ministers will have an overview of the management to combat Bolsonarism in their regions — (PL) should be the PT’s main opponent in the dispute.
The president’s allies have also been advised to talk about the negative impact on the Brazilian economy of the war in , remembering that the Donald Trump government’s initiatives have the support of the Bolsonaro family.
As is usual in ministerial meetings, the meeting will begin with a speech by the president, followed by some of his ministers. This time, the speeches should be led by Rui Costa, Sidônio Palmeira (Communication Secretariat) and Dario Durigan, Fernando Haddad’s successor in the Ministry of Finance.
Durigan was scheduled to give a presentation on advances and challenges in the economic area. According to interlocutors, he must take stock of the department’s actions up to this point in his mandate.
At Lula’s request, a study was carried out on the effects of interest rates on the economy. The presentation was made to him and the president’s direct collaborators.
The meeting, which will take place in the Supreme Room of the Palácio do Planalto, a space reserved for large meetings, will focus on the new ministers, but will be attended by the heads of all portfolios, including those who will remain in their positions.
This Tuesday’s meeting is expected to be shorter than previous years’ editions, ending at around 12pm, due to Lula’s trip to São Paulo in the afternoon.
In total, the positions due to the elections, among those who will run for public office, reassignments to other portfolios and activities in the president’s campaign. The official deadline for non-compliance ends on Saturday (4), but the majority must announce their departure before this date.
As the election period approached, the guidance given to the government team was that ministers who had mandates as parliamentarians should step aside during the dispute to reinforce Lula’s platform in the states.
This intention remained, with some changes according to the PT’s plans for each minister. As an example, there are the cases of Fernando Haddad (PT) and (), currently in charge of the Entrepreneurship department.
Haddad, then head of the Treasury, did not intend to enter the electoral race this year, but will be a candidate for governor of São Paulo at the president’s request. France, in turn, must take over the Ministry of Development, Industry, Commerce and Services, as Geraldo Alckmin (PSB) will become vice-presidency again.
Among the palace ministers, who work directly with the president, Rui Costa and (Institutional Relations) will leave their posts to seek vacancies in the Senate – for Bahia and Paraná, respectively. Guilherme Boulos (General Secretariat), Sidônio Palmeira and (General Attorney’s Office of the Union), in turn, will remain in government.
The succession of the majority of ministries should be left to the executive secretaries of each department, as has been announced by the incumbents and by Lula himself. Some cases, however, still require deliberation, as in Gleisi’s place.
Lula withdrew from (Council for Sustainable Economic and Social Development), Olavo Noleto, as Minister of Institutional Relations after Congress leaders expressed reservations about Noleto’s choice.
The direction of some ministers is still being defined – in some cases, as it depends on approval from Lula himself. This is the case of pedetista Wolney Queiroz (Social Security), who could become federal deputy for Pernambuco.
The PT member (Education) can support Lula’s campaign or run as a candidate for the Government of Ceará. This Monday (30), Lula announced the executive secretary of the MEC (Ministry of Education), Leonardo Barchini, to take over the post.
The cases of Alexandre Silveira (PSD), from Minas e Energia, for whom in the position, as shown in the Panel column, from Sheet. The concern would be to guarantee the stability of the government’s “kitchen” with the departure of other names that are more trusted and close to the president, such as Haddad, Rui Costa and Gleisi.
Sidônio, in turn, is expected to make a presentation on government communication. For future ministers, the guidance is to maintain the pace of work in their portfolios. This will not be the first time that Lula demands solidarity from his team.
At a ministerial meeting last November, the specific demand directed to ministers was for those who had already been governors to adopt a public position in the states.
