Paulo Pimenta prioritizes agendas in RS and politicians from Rio Grande do Sul – 05/14/2023 – Politics

On the 5th of May, a Friday, the chief minister of Secom (Special Secretariat for Social Communication), Paulo Pimenta (PT), participated in a round of conversation at the social forum on the outskirts of Porto Alegre (RS).

From there, he went to the inauguration ceremony of the new CEO of Grupo Hospitalar Conceição, the largest public hospital network in southern Brazil.

Still in Porto Alegre, the gaucho attended the launch of a parliamentary front to combat fake news. In Santa Maria, his hometown, the head of Secom unveiled the opening tape of a UBS (Basic Health Unit).

On May 6, the minister carried out an intense agenda in the city where he was councilor, including visiting fairs and meeting with representatives of the Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Services.

“My Saturday was full of agendas in Santa Maria, the heart of Rio Grande do Sul. We met friends and companions, we dialogued with the city’s productive sectors, affirming our commitment to the development of Brazil and our municipality”, he said on social media. .

Back at the Planalto Palace, Pimenta devoted part of his time last week to politics in Rio Grande do Sul, including an audience with the state’s deputy governor, Gabriel Souza (MDB).

On Wednesday (10), he promoted a meeting between Minister Renan Filho (Transport) and politicians from Rio Grande do Sul. The agenda: “demands of the state of RS”.

On the same day, Pimenta received 4 other parliamentarians, 3 of them from Rio Grande do Sul. The rhythm of May reproduces that of the previous four months.

From January to May 2nd, Pimenta made room for at least 40 appointments related to Rio Grande do Sul, including events or meetings with representatives of different sectors of his state. These agendas were not necessarily directly related to the work carried out by Secom.

The list ranges from inauguration of bridges to meetings with road police, lawyers and providers of a Santa Casa. The undertaking did not go unnoticed by Esplanada’s allies and colleagues, who attribute the move to the minister’s political intentions.

In Congress and in the government, politicians are betting on Pimenta’s desire to run for the Government of Rio Grande do Sul or the Senate in 2026, or even the mayor of Santa Maria in 2024.

Asked about making part of his agenda available to the state, Pimenta said, through his advisor, that it was “natural that the only minister from Rio Grande do Sul in the federal government should receive representatives of the state in his cabinet”.

“The chief minister of the Social Communication Secretariat, Paulo Pimenta, has been working 12 to 15 hours a day for almost four months. During this period, he received people from all over Brazil — as the agenda records, in a transparent way , as it should be, and the very Folha S.Paulo had access,” said the minister.

“From Rio Grande do Sul, the minister received, for example, participants from the March of Mayors from several states and ‘even a provider of a Santa Casa in a municipality in Rio Grande do Sul’, as the report asks, in reference to a health institution. Minister will continue with a broad agenda, dialoguing without making distinctions, to improve even more the communication of a government for all”, he added.

In government, Pimenta is the holder of the folder identified as one of the priorities by President Lula (PT). Formally, the minister reports to six national secretaries, including advisers with direct access to Lula. Among them, photographer Ricardo Stuckert and José Chrispiniano, press secretary.

Despite this robust structure, the key to the safe is in the hands of the Minister of Communications, Juscelino Filho (União Brasil). This includes putting into operation contracts with advertising agencies totaling R$450 million.

The Ministry of Communications and Secom formed a single structure in the Jair Bolsonaro (PL) government, under the command of Fábio Faria (PSD).

In the new configuration of the Esplanada, Secom was not equipped with a structure for budget execution. In February, an ordinance delegated to Secom employees the competence to act as expense orderers.

But budgetary and financial management is the responsibility of the Ministry of Communications.

It was only in March that Secom’s employees were incorporated into the structure of the Presidency. Until April, the payroll was in charge of the portfolio commanded by Juscelino.

Sought after, the advisory of the Ministry of Communications informed that it provides operational and administrative support under the guidance of Secom.

Secom’s executive secretary, Ricardo Zamora, rejects the idea that “the pen” is with União Brasil, since the secretariat’s function is to authorize expenses.

“We also inform that Secom holds control of its own budget, through an inter-ministerial decree dated February 1st, signed by MCOM [ministério das Comunicações] and by Secom. The Undersecretariat for Management and Standards —which forms part of Secom’s structure— is responsible for the expenses of all advertising contracts. All new ministries and Secom did not exist until January 1st and the budget was voted last year. So this transitional situation exists for all new ministries”, says the note from the secretariat.