Padilha says that command of the Ministry of Health will not be negotiated

The Minister of Institutional Relations, Alexandre Padilha, said this Monday (19) that President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) will not place the Ministry of Health as a quota for any party and that the nominations for the portfolio will be technical. Currently, the folder is headed by the former president of Fiocruz Nísia Trindade.

After meeting with the representative at the Palácio da Alvorada, Padilha denied that the President of the Chamber of Deputies, Arthur Lira, from the PP, had claimed the appointment of the Minister of Health.

“For both me and President Lula, at no time did President Arthur Lira claim any ministry, in any of the conversations he had, did he make any type of claim to the Ministry of Health or another ministry of the federal government,” said Padilha, reported by Agência Brasil.

“President Lula, at no time since the assembly of his government, since the choice of ministers, has placed the Ministry of Health as a party quota for any party. From the beginning, President Lula made a decision about the Ministry of Health , especially after the whole situation in the pandemic, due to the importance of the health issue, of wanting to indicate a public health framework to the Ministry of Health”, he said.

“Choose a woman [Nísia Trindade]the first woman to occupy the Ministry of Health, chose the former president of Fiocruz, for all the role she played during the pandemic “, added the minister. According to Padilha, the government is talking to the political parties of the allied base, above all União Brasil, about their nominations for positions in the government.

In recent weeks, the name of the Minister of Tourism, Daniela Carneiro, who is from União Brasil, has been on the discussion table, especially after the minister filed a request to go to the Republicans without losing her mandate. In addition to Tourism, União Brasil, one of the largest benches in the Chamber, with 59 deputies, is in charge of two other ministries: Communications, with Juscelino Filho, and National Integration, with Waldez Góes. For the time being, President Lula keeps Daniela in office.

Padilha explained this Monday that it is “a desire already expressed by the leaders of União Brasil” to reformulate the ministries that have party nominations. According to him, “there is no pressure” or request for the resignation of minister Daniela Carneiro.

“It is absolutely natural that a party that indicated names for the ministry, three ministries, might, at some point, want to re-discuss this composition”, he said. “This is part of democracy, of the political debate, there is no pressure, including on Minister Daniela Carneiro,” said Padilha.