Padilha waves with central positions linked to Bolsonaro – 01/30/2023 – Politics

Responsible for political articulation, Minister Alexandre Padilha (Secretary of Institutional Relations) says that the government of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) hopes to expand party alliances and, for that, is open to dialogue and does not rule out nominations for positions by allies of former President Jair Bolsonaro (PL).

“We already have ten parties and federations that have indicated people, cadres, to compose these ministries. I believe that in the next steps we are going to expand the number of parties”, said the minister in an interview with Sheet.

Padilha reinforces that “this time of strafing the opposition is over” – in reference to phrases by former President Bolsonaro. According to the minister, Lula will dialogue with political groups that were on the side of his predecessor, such as the PP, Republicans and even the PL.

“And eventually these parties have cadres that are part of the government and that can be used, they have cadres that already form part of government structures and, if well evaluated, can continue”, he waved.

On the eve of the congressional summit election, the minister guaranteed that the PT, with Lula’s support, will support Arthur Lira (PP-AL) as president of the Chamber and Rodrigo Pacheco (PSD-MG) as head of the Senate. . They are the favorites in the race.

According to him, the tax reform and the approval of the new fiscal mark are the government’s priorities in the Congressional votes in this first semester.

How will the government react to the acts January 8th? There were consequences, but there is expectation of new changes? President Lula’s decision to make a federal intervention restricted to the public security of the Government of the Federal District so that we could take control over the PM, the security troops of the DF, was decisive and surgical to stop a coup that was being orchestrated .

I think that January 8th is, on the one hand, a terrorist act, an orchestrated risk of a coup and, at the same time, a demonstration that, when we are united and put institutions in place, it is possible to strengthen democracy in the country. We recover institutional stability.

President Lula said that the GLO was not decreed [Garantia da Lei e da Ordem] because there was a fear that the coup would take effect. Does this risk still exist, even with the changes in the Army? If necessary, will it be used? The decision of an extreme act, which is the federal intervention restricted to the security area, was made because it was the best instrument to contain the dismantling of the work of the Public Security of the DF. Protocols that are pre-defined were not complied with. The GLO, which is provided for in the Constitution, was not the correct mechanism for that moment, but it may be the best instrument for other realities.

Today, President Lula trusts the Army and the military that were here, GSI, all the security of the Highland? There was never, on the part of President Lula, generalized distrust in relation to the Armed Forces, a distrust in relation to the Army. What we have is a clear diagnosis that a set of institutions, whether military or civilian, have unfortunately been contaminated by the anti-democratic coup logic of what we have experienced in the last four years. So, you have individuals who have been tainted by this. And it is up to Brazilian institutions to investigate and punish those who were negligent in defending democracy.

What is President Lula’s base in Congress? President Lula will have a very respectful relationship, a broad base, not only for defending the government, but mainly for debating the projects. What are the government’s priorities for next year, for this first semester? It is the tax reform debate and the fiscal framework debate in the country. We have a solid, predictable fiscal anchor that gives security to those who want to invest in the country and that goes beyond the government. These are issues that are not government and opposition issues.

Does that mean looking for members of the PL, which is Bolsonaro’s party? Since I was announced as minister, I have tried to talk to everyone, including the opposition.

Why haven’t most of the second- and third-tier nominations yet come out? When will they occur? There is a process of evaluating people, of dialogue with economic segments, with social segments, with political parties. We recreated ministries, without increasing costs, it was the relocation of positions, which ended now. So let’s start being able to make the nominations. It is the time of one of a government that is being restructured.

Can parties that did not nominate for the first echelon nominate for the second echelon? We are certainly open, permanently dialoguing with this.

Which parties? Parties that supported President Lula in the second round election. Eventual parties that did not support, but that are signaling their interest in participating in the government. We already have ten parties and federations that have appointed people to compose these ministries. I believe that in the next steps we will expand the number of parties.

And there are parties that declared themselves opposition or independent. We respect that. As much as we want to build a very positive relationship with the PL, which belongs to the president who left [Bolsonaro], I absolutely understand that you have no interest in appointing cadres to the government. The era of a President of the Republic saying he will shoot the opposition is over. The era of gunning down the opposition is over.

And what about the Lula wing of the parties that were closest to Bolsonaro? PP, PL and Republicans are parties that were at the core of the outgoing government. I fully respect their position that they are now outside the government, but we are absolutely open to dialogue on issues that are of interest to the country. And eventually these parties have cadres that are part of the government and that can be used, they have cadres that already form part of government structures and, if well evaluated, can continue.

Did you recently speak with the presidents of the PL, Valdemar Costa Neto, and the PP, Ciro Nogueira? They are people with whom I always talked, before, after and during [as eleições]. We’ve had face-to-face conversations, others over the phone. I talk permanently with all leaders, including opposition parties. And let’s keep talking.

If parties like PP and Republicans ask for space in the first echelon as a condition for joining the government, will this be granted? You have to see what is said about it. When you set up a government, it always has to be open to dialogue.

But is the government open to ministerial reform to accommodate more parties? We have just started the government. We are happy with the ministers who are in government. Government is not a 100 meter race. Government is marathon.

União Brasil appointed the Minister of Tourism, Daniela Carneirowhich, as shown by Sheet, has political relations with militia members, the target of criticism by opponents and even PT members. In addition, the party wants more space in the second echelon (FNDE, Banco do Nordeste, Codevasf, Dnocs, and others). How much votes will this party deliver in relation to the acronym’s space? First, I want to state that nothing that has been published, up to this moment, discredits her as Minister of Tourism. Second, it is not just União Brasil. All parties, including the PT, want to be able to appoint more political and technical cadres. That’s natural. The relationship with the National Congress we are conducting throughout the voting.

Can parties that do not deliver votes lose space? The assessment of those in government is one, whether they are meeting the expectations of the president and the government in relation to public policies. And we have other evaluation instruments in relation to the National Congress.

But how many votes does the government have in Congress today? The crucial issues that we are going to vote on in the National Congress are issues that involve grassroots and opposition parties.

What role will parliamentary amendments play in the new Lula government? The role of amendments for me is to allow each parliamentarian to collaborate to solve the problems of the population. Governance is consolidated through dialogue with the National Congress, governors and mayors, and with society through the recreation of the Council.

What will be the government’s relationship with future presidents of the Chamber and Senate? The federal government will not have any attitude of intervention in the internal debate of the Chamber and the Senate in the presidential election. The PT has already declared its support for Lira and Rodrigo Pacheco and the PT will comply with what it declared. The PT honors its commitments. The relationship will be the best possible with a lot of institutional respect. As it was in the transition, when Lira and Pacheco helped with the PEC.

Lira was strengthened in the Bolsonaro government. Some politicians said he was a kind of prime minister. The government wants to change this relationship? lyre and [Rodrigo] Maia had the posture of presidents of the Chamber. I believe that both Lira and Pacheco, if re-elected, will have with the federal government and with this ministry [Relações Institucionais] the institutional relationship that belongs to them.

I think that the strengthening of their performance will be due to the respect they will have from President Lula and the federal government in this relationship. Both Lira and Pacheco, as well as any other president who will happen in these four years, because we will have another biennium, will be strengthened because they will have a relationship of deep institutional respect with the federal government.

Lula’s opponents say that the government has resumed give and take, for having negotiated positions in the Executive. Are there fears that positions will be used for their own benefit and that there will be cases of corruption? All over the world, in democratic countries, governments are set up listening to political parties, social and economic segments, seeking cadres indicated by these institutions and by these movements.

What strengthens the anti-corruption institutions is the Federal Police regaining autonomy, and not the delegate being changed because he will investigate a member of the president’s family, as happened in the previous government. It is for the CGU to regain the status of a ministry, to be able to speak as equals, with male and female ministers and with other spheres of the federal public administration.

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X-RAY | Alexandre Padilha, 51 years old

Physician, graduated from Unicamp. He was minister of SRI (Secretary of Institutional Relations) of Lula. In 2011, he took over the Ministry of Health under Dilma Rousseff (PT) and implemented the Mais Médicos program. He headed the Municipal Health Secretariat of the then mayor Fernando Haddad (PT-SP) from 2015 to 2016. In 2018, he won the election for federal deputy for São Paulo, a position for which he was re-elected in 2022. SRI in the new Lula government.