Lula resumes negotiations and centrão charges important ministries – 07/20/2023 – Politics

After returning from a trip to Europe, President Lula (PT) will intensify negotiations for exchanges on the Esplanada to consolidate the entry of PP and Republican parliamentarians into the government, in what has been treated as a ministerial mini-reform.

Parliamentarians and members of the Planalto report that the positions that will be offered are open and that it will be up to Lula to hit the hammer, but members of the centrão say they will not accept low-budget portfolios and with little capillarity. According to reports, the only folder armored by the PT so far is the Health.

For members of the PP, there is a cutoff point for entering the government, and the portfolio they aim to occupy must be equal to or greater than the Ministry of Social Development, responsible for Bolsa Família, on which the president has already made public statements that he will not give in.

According to a member of the centrão, the ministries of Health, Education and Regional Integration and Development, headed by Nísia Trindade, Camilo Santana (PT) and Waldez Góes, respectively, follow this logic. A graduate of the PDT, Góes is nominated by Senator Davi Alcolumbre (União Brasil-AP).

Lula returned from Belgium this Wednesday (19) and is scheduled for this Thursday (20) a meeting with the hard core of the Planalto Palace, among them ministers Alexandre Padilha (Secretary of Institutional Relations) and Rui Costa (Civil House).

As much as the president’s meetings with the ministers are commonplace, the expectation is that the possibilities for change in the Esplanada will be the subject of the meeting.

At this first moment, allies say, Lula will update himself on the conversations that took place in his absence and will address the puzzle to rearrange the command of the ministries. In the words of an assistant, the PT will “reflect and analyze” the possible scenario.

According to people familiar with the negotiations, only next week will the president meet with PP and Republican leaders to continue the negotiations.

There is a possibility, however, that Lula will meet later this week with the president of the Chamber of Deputies, Arthur Lira (PP-AL), who also returned from an international trip. There are, however, no scheduled meetings.

First-time allies of the president recognize that it will be necessary to cut “in the flesh” to house deputies from the centrão. In this scenario, the expectation is that Lula will have to reallocate or dismiss members of the PT itself, or of allied parties, such as PSB and PC do B, to make room for PP and Republicans.

Members of the Planalto Palace have been making a series of drawings in search of a solution to accommodate the center.

In a sketch, Lula’s allies work with the hypothesis of ceding the Ministry of Ports and Airports, occupied by Márcio França (PSB). In another, there is speculation of transferring Minister Luciana Santos (Science and Technology), who is from the PC do B, to the Women’s portfolio, thus exonerating Minister Cida Gonçalves, the target of criticism in the government.

Such as Sheet showed, the pressure from centrão parties for more ministries could cost Lula the loss of the record for the participation of women in the first echelon. Last week, Daniela Carneiro was replaced by Celso Sabino at the head of the Tourism portfolio.

Another design for the negotiation takes into account the desire of the centrão for Caixa Econômica Federal. One wing of the government defends ceding the presidency of the state-owned company, since Rita Serrano, at the head of the body, has received complaints from members of the PT itself.

Another wing, however, claims that the command of Caixa is strategic as it is the body responsible for releasing loans for Minha Casa, Minha Vida and Bolsa Família payments. In this scenario, the government would assign only the bank’s vice-presidencies to the centrão and could put a person whom Lula trusts to head it. A name suggested in this hypothesis is that of the executive secretary of the Civil House, Miriam Belchior (PT).

On Tuesday (18), Padilha met with deputies Silvio Costa Filho (Republicans-PE) and André Fufuca (PP-MA), leader of the acronym in the Chamber. Both can take on ministries.

According to reports, the parliamentarians left the conversations with the impression that there is no ministry vetoed in the negotiations, except Health. The assessment of congressmen is that, if necessary, Lula may abdicate from the Ministry of Social Development and Sport, even after the president tries to shield the portfolios.

Despite this, members of the government point out that it will be up to Lula to sanction the changes. On Tuesday night, the leader of the government in the Chamber, José Guimarães (PT-CE), told journalists that the PP and Republicans will be “incorporated into the government”, but a definition by the Presidency is lacking.

“The thesis of incorporating these parties [PP e Republicanos] in the government is already consolidated. Also those names that appeared in the press that were nominated by the parties”, said Guimarães.

According to reports, the probable appointments of Fufuca and Costa Filho will be attributed to Lula’s personal quota – this is because the parties will continue to adopt the line that they are independent.

Initially, the PP had asked to occupy Social Development and the Republicans, Sport. In addition, PP also took it for granted that he would occupy Caixa.

Ana Moser, holder of the Ministry of Sports, is out of the country. She traveled to Oceania to attend the opening of the Women’s World Cup and the first game of the Brazilian team in the competition.

Lula’s aides, however, began to assert that, although some of these positions could be negotiated, there is no certainty that the president will offer them. On the contrary. In the case of Social Development, the representative’s signal was that the portfolio will not enter into negotiations with the centrão.

“This ministry is my ministry.

The possibility of the government handing over the ministry responsible for Bolsa Família, the government’s main social program, was raised because the president himself has been criticizing the performance of Wellington Dias (PT), who commands the portfolio.