Brazil: Lula Swears In Cabinet Members, Inks First Decrees

By Pedro Rafael Vilela

President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva on Sunday (Jan. 1) swore in 37 cabinet members and signed the first acts of the new administration. At the ceremony, held at the Planalto presidential palace, 13 documents were inked, among which decrees and provisional measures.

The first measure brings a new structure to the president’s cabinet. Another makes it possible to keep the allowance under income transfer program Bolsa Família at a monthly BRL 600 per person, plus BRL 150 per child aged up to six. A major campaign promise made by the president, the move was only feasible after Congress passed a bill excluding the welfare program from the cap on public spending.

Lula also signed a measure that maintains the exemption of federal taxes on fuels, in addition to a decree on weapons. According to the new president’s office, this is the beginning of a revamp in Brazil’s arms control policy. Lula also inked an order granting the Office of the Comptroller-General 30 days to reconsider the undue secrecy imposed on public administration matters.

In the environmental arena, a number of decrees were signed, including documents that reinstate efforts to fight deforestation and illegal mining in the Amazon, and another that restores the Amazon Fund, with BRL 3 billion in international donations to combat environmental crime.

Other acts signed by Lula on his first day in office direct ministers to have government-run companies such as oil giant Petrobras, national post office company Correios, and public broadcasting organization EBC removed from privatization plans. Another stipulates that his secretariat should draft proposals to recreate a program to support collectors of recyclable materials.

The following officials hold minister status and have been sworn in by the new president:

• Sônia Guajajara – Ministry of Indigenous Peoples;
• Rui Costa – Office of the President’s Chief of Staff;
• Flávio Dino – Ministry of Justice and Public Security;
• Fernando Haddad – Ministry of Finance;
• Simone Tebet – Ministry of Planning and Budget;
• Aniele Franco – Ministry of Racial Equality;
• Cida Gonçalves – Ministry of Women;
• José Múcio Monteiro – Ministry of Defense;
• Mauro Vieiria – Ministry of Foreign Relations;
• Renan Filho – Ministry of Transportation;
• Nísia Trindade – Ministry of Health;
• Margareth Menezes – Ministry of Culture;
• Ana Moser – Ministry of Sports;
• Carlos Fávaro – Ministry of Agriculture;
• Camilo Santana – Ministry of Education;
• Alexandre Silveira – Ministry of Mines and Energy;
• André de Paula – Ministry of Fishing and Aquaculture;
• Luciana Santos – Ministry of Science, Technology, and Innovation;
• Marina Silva – Ministry of Environment and Climate Change;
• Simone Tebet – Ministry of Planning;
• Esther Dweck – Ministry of Management and Innovation in Public Services;
• Carlos Lupi – Ministry of Social Security;
• Waldez Góes – Ministry of Integration and Regional Development;
• Alexandre Padilha – Secretariat of Institutional Relations;
• Daniela Carneiro – Ministry of Tourism;
• Silvio Almeida – Ministry of Human Rights;
• Margareth Menezes – Ministry of Culture;
• Márcio França – Ministry of Ports and Airports;
• Paulo Teixeira – Ministry of Agricultural Development and Family Agriculture;
• Juscelino Filho – Ministry of Communications;
• Luiz Marinho – Ministry of Labor and Employment;
• Márcio Macedo – Office of the President’s Secretariat-General;
• Vinícius Marques Carvalho – Office of the Comptroller-General (CGU);
• Jorge Messias – Office of the Attorney General (AGU);
• Gonçalves Dias – Institutional Security Cabinet (GSI);
• Geraldo Alckmin – Ministry of Development, Industry, Trade, and Services.