Lula’s ministerial reform may be insufficient for governance

The boarding of Deputy André Fufuca (PP-MA), party leader in the Chamber, and Deputy Sílvio Costa Filho (Republicans-PE) secured the entry into the Centrão in the government of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT). They will assume the Ministries of Sport and Ports and Airports, respectively, previously occupied by Ana Moser and Márcio Franca (PSB). But the reform promoted by Lula may not be enough to increase the Planalto’s governability in Congress.

This is the opinion of political scientist Adriano Cerqueira, professor at the Brazilian Institute of Capital Markets (IBMEC). For him, they are portfolios of little visibility and the changes in the Esplanade will not be enough to raise expressive support in Congress.

“I think this ministerial change is too weak to consolidate expressive support, both from the PP and the Republicans for Lula’s government. They are ministries of low expression, ministries that do not have as much visibility. I think that Lula is reading the past for a situation that has changed a lot”, said the political scientist.

And he added: “The Republicans and the PP today have a perspective more of power than of positions. They are thinking bigger. Of course they are available to help the government, but it is not unconditional help. And it doesn’t just involve having a ministry or a position, it also involves a government agenda. This is the biggest problem that Lula faces in this current government. He wants to impose his government agenda, but Congress and the Chamber of Deputies have a different agenda”.

In addition to the ministry, the PP also wants Caixa Econômica Federal. The Republicans are negotiating to command the National Health Foundation (Funasa). The names have not yet been announced by the government, which could happen next week.

The entry of the parties is also seen as something unprecedented, since the PP and the Republicans formed a coalition with the PL, the party of former president Jair Bolsonaro (PL) in the 2022 elections and until then were considered to be in opposition to Lula.

With important agendas in Congress, such as Tax Reform and Administrative Reform, the government aims to increase the support base in the Legislative and avoid the suffocation passed in the first half. During this period, deputies barred decrees that changed the Sanitation Framework, approved the PM for the Atlantic Forest and allowed important Provisional Measures for Planalto to lapse: MP from Coaf, MF from Funasa and MP from Carf.

The deputies’ main argument was that the government was not efficient in political articulations. The president of the Chamber, Arthur Lira (PP-AL), even demanded greater dialogue with congressmen from Lula. Promised this July, the ministerial reform had been postponed by Lula. The Planalto had to negotiate with the allied parties, such as the PT and the PSB, to give space to the Centrão.

Silvio Costa Filho: close to the government in an opposition party

In the Bolsonaro government, Costa Filho was vice-president of the special commission on pension reform, which was approved at the beginning of his term. He was also rapporteur for the proposed autonomy of the Central Bank in the Chamber of Deputies.

The choice of Silvio Costa Filho to integrate the folder did not have as much resistance from the base. Since the beginning of Lula’s (PT) new term, he has acted as a dissonant voice on the bench for seeking to bring the Republicans closer to the government.

Son of former federal deputy Silvio Costa, the new minister has always been close to Lula and the PT. He was elected to the Chamber of Deputies in 2018, endorsing Bolsonaro’s candidacy. In 2022, however, he decided to support Lula.