Lula’s ‘Prime Minister’ becomes window pane in government – 05/11/2023 – Bruno Boghossian

In February, Lula took advantage of his visit to a podium in Bahia to tease his Civil House minister. “Working with Rui Costa is peace of mind. You don’t need to ask him to do things. He knows what to do”, he said. “I can lie down every night, lay my head on the pillow and sleep knowing that Rui is working.”

Lula chose to install in the Planalto Palace someone with authority to run projects, mediate conflicts within the government and remove pineapples from the presidential office. Described by his boss as a kind of prime minister, Costa established himself as the most powerful man on the Esplanada — but he also became the government’s biggest window.

The political wear and tear faced by Lula in recent weeks spilled over into the Civil House. Parliamentarians argue that Costa’s centralizing style and abuses caused by an excess of power have worsened the parties’ relationship with the Planalto.

A target of Congress, the decree that changes the sanitation framework was shaped in the Civil House. Deputies also attribute to the folder a block in the appointment of sponsors and in the payment of amendments. Costa even worsened the mood when he said that the privatization of Eletrobras, approved in the Chamber and in the Senate, had “a bad smell of lack of morality”.

Colleagues in the government, already uncomfortable with the minister’s protagonism, also started to point the finger at Costa. The Chief of Staff indicated that he is keeping an eye on friendly fire. “It is an environment of a lot of futrics, gossip, fake news and montage of fake news”, he told GloboNews on Wednesday (10).

Lula also saw the blood in the water. This Thursday (11), the president reinforced the power of the auxiliary: “Rui takes care of the government. Everything that goes to me goes through Rui first.”

The president said that Costa is his “Dilma in pants”. The difference is that, in the first terms, Lula delegated project management to the minister, but arbitrated political relations. Now, the petista seems to be less willing to untie these knots.

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