Ana Moser compares dismissal to retirement from volleyball – 09/09/2023 – Power

Still in the last few days as holder of the portfolio, the Minister of Sports, Ana Moser, regrets her resignation to accommodate the centrão within the government of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT).

His departure from office was announced by the government last Wednesday (6), but his official dismissal has not yet taken place. The person who will assume the position will be the current federal deputy André Fufuca (PP-MA), an ally of the president of the Chamber, Arthur Lira (PP-AL).

The former Brazilian volleyball athlete and bronze medalist at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics will meet with Lula on Tuesday (12), when she intends to present a final summary of her eight months of management in Sport. Fufuca’s inauguration ceremony is scheduled for Wednesday (13).

In conversation with the Sheet this Saturday (9), she compares her departure from the department to the time when an injury forced her to abandon volleyball earlier than she would have liked, with a game in the year 2000. She says that, although it is not easy to live with her resignation, understands that he has already gone through similar moments in his career.

“My desire at the time was perhaps to continue playing. I didn’t stop because I wanted to, I stopped because something stopped me — in this case, my knee. Now, I don’t leave because I wanted to, but because of a context [político]”, it says.

In this context, he says, there is also an issue of gender imbalance. “It’s not a question of identity, it’s a question of balance,” says Moser.

“It’s a fact, there’s no denying it: power is masculine, sport is masculine, the Judiciary is masculine, parliament is masculine. In other parts of society, more progress has certainly been made. In these sectors, progress has only been made at a slower pace.”

At the same time that he fired Moser to allocate Fufuca, Lula removed Márcio França (PSB) from Ports and Airports —replaced by Silvio Costa Filho (Republicans)—, but did not dismiss him, creating a new portfolio, Small Businesses, to accommodate him. it.

Still on the night Moser’s resignation was announced, the Ministry of Sports published an institutional note regretting Lula’s decision. The following day, the minister did not attend the September 7th parade.

Subsequently, it received support from a series of sports figures, social causes and even members of the government, such as Minister Anielle Franco (Racial Equality) and the First Lady, Janja.

“My role within the ministry was for the cause, not personal or career [política]. It was simply the application of a construction that I’ve done all my life in terms of developing the sport, so I certainly didn’t expect to leave so soon,” he says.

She says she recognizes, however, that the situation is beyond her power. “I’m sorry it’s priced like that, I wish it were different, but I understand that this is the process.”

Since retiring from volleyball, Moser has dedicated his career to social projects and defending what he calls sport for all — a vision of practice combined with health, education and social inclusion. He created the Sports and Education Institute and presided over Athletes for Brazil.

He says that, when he was called, Lula asked him to carry out a revolution in sport — and that he accepted the position because of the possibility of trying to put into practice what, as a civil society, he advocated that governments apply.

In his assessment, it was possible to complete the restructuring of the ministry, valuing, for example, inclusion sports, Paralympics and women’s football, in addition to making changes to Bolsa Atleta, which now includes payments to pregnant women.

The structuring of the General Sports Law and the National Sports System, the articulation of sports policies with other departments and entities of the federation, in addition to the results of the working group on women’s football and Brazil’s candidacy, will be left to the next administration, he says. for the 2027 Women’s World Cup.

Regarding her future, she criticizes speculation that she could assume the presidency of the Brazilian Olympic Committee (COB) — a non-governmental institution that defines its representative by election — or the Olympic Authority: “There is no way there can be an invitation to something that doesn’t exist” .

On the other hand, he says it is important that political negotiations are exposed. “The more light that is shed on this debate [político], the better it will get. We are moving forward as a society, to come out of this with something better”, she says.