Ministers minimize doors to centrão, Tebet asks for women – 07/14/2023 – Power

Ministers Simone Tebet (Planning) and Márcio Macêdo (Secretary-General of the Presidency) naturally deal with pressure from the centrão for positions in the Lula (PT) government and defend the opening of dialogue to improve governance, minimizing the risk of lack of control of policies public.

Both justified the negotiations by citing the model of coalition presidentialism during a press conference this Friday (14th), in the capital of São Paulo, before the last plenary session of the Brasil Participativo platform to collect suggestions for the Participatory Budget and the multi-year plan (PPA) 2024- 2027.

Tebet reinforced the defense of the presence of women in government, given the sequence of ministers whose positions have been threatened by the appetite of center-right parties for positions. The head of the Budget, however, said that a woman does not necessarily need to be replaced by another.

“We have the most female ministry in all of history. Of course, sometimes some adjustment or other needs to be made, [como] had to be done at the Ministry of Tourism [com a troca de Daniela Carneiro por Celso Sabino]”, she said, agreeing that changes are needed for the political composition.

“But I have no doubt that, whatever the change that is made, women will continue or will go to other ministries, other extremely relevant spaces of power and will continue proportionately with the representativeness they have today”, he added.

Ana Moser (Sport), one of the women whose permanence is threatened, participated in the interview, but did not answer questions.

The event gathered a total of ten ministers, including Marina Silva (Environment) and Sônia Guajajara (Indigenous Peoples), in addition to Vice President Geraldo Alckmin, also Minister of Development, Industry, Trade and Services.

Moser was highly applauded as she addressed the audience at the Memorial da América Latino auditorium, filled with representatives of social movements in areas such as housing, culture, agrarian reform and inclusion of minorities. She said she was committed to fulfilling the mission given to her by Lula.

“Ana stays, Ana stays”, people shouted in chorus in the audience to support the minister, who waved back.

Macêdo took advantage of the subject of ministerial exchanges to indirectly criticize Jair Bolsonaro (PL), stating that “the previous president” made a negative innovation by delivering the Budget to Congress, giving up governing.

“President Lula did not do this and will not do it. He will not relinquish his constitutional role,” he said.

“It is natural that the parties that want to support the Chamber and the Senate claim participation in the ministry and claim ministries”, he continued, adding that both he and the other ministers present are subject to having to give up their seats.

“The decision belongs to the President of the Republic. The positions are his, as the people determined at the ballot box. He will define and dialogue”, stated the head of the General Secretariat. He recalled the unprecedented proportion of women in Lula’s initial ministry (11 out of 37). Without Daniela, now they are 10.

Macêdo spoke of “empowered women throughout the administration, fulfilling their role”, including at the head of Caixa Econômica Federal and Banco do Brasil.

“In the political culture of President Lula and our parties, it is natural for women to play a leading role. So the president, at the right time, will dialogue and see what changes he wants to make”, said the minister.

“Dialogue we do with the different, not with the same. [Um] I am an example of that”, stated Tebet, who ran against Lula in the first round and was invited to the post after supporting him in the second.

“Although we often have different economic views, this is how you govern on a broad front. President Lula’s government, from day one, has been a broad front government.”

Tebet reiterated the need to build a majority in Congress, including to approve public policies that are being suggested by the population in the Participatory Budget. “We want a majority for relevant and social programs in Brazil. We know where we want to go,” she said.

The minister said it is natural that anyone who thinks differently wants to be part of the government. “If they want to come together and make politics with a capital ‘p’, it is natural that they come and ask for space,” she added, declaring that she trusts Lula to make the adjustments.

“We live in a coalition presidentialism, in which the government that wins does not have a majority in the National Congress and has to dialogue. An example of this was what happened in the Tax Reform”, he pointed out.

The ministers entered the stage of the auditorium to the sound of the chorus “my heart is red”, from the song “Vermelho”, famous in the voice of Fafá de Belém and sung on stage by a band. The government says that the meetings are an opportunity for the government to listen directly to the demands of the population.

Minutes earlier, state deputy Eduardo Suplicy (PT-SP) asserted a personal tradition and sang Bob Dylan’s “Blowin’ in the Wind”.

Other state and federal legislators from Lula’s base attended. One of them was Guilherme Boulos (PSOL), pre-candidate for mayor of São Paulo in 2024 with the possible support of the PT. When he was announced, chants of “Boulos Mayor” were heard in the auditorium.

In an interview with Sheet, Macêdo denied that meetings to discuss the participatory budget and government priorities are restricted to a bubble. He said that there are open doors for proposals from all forces in society, including those who supported Bolsonaro.

According to him, the more significant presence of pro-Lula militants was predictable, because the social movements “were muzzled and now have a chance to speak”, but religious, business and rural sectors that distanced themselves from the PT in the election were called and participated in meetings.