Rui Costa becomes the target of criticism in the government and in Congress – 03/24/2023 – Politics

The Minister of the Civil House, Rui Costa, became the target of criticism both from colleagues in the Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) administration and from parliamentarians in the National Congress.

Complaints range from the style of the minister, considered harsh, to practical issues, such as the delay in authorizing appointments of nominees to occupy positions in the federal machine.

Over the past week, Rui has clashed with Minister Fernando Haddad (Finance), shaking the core of the government. On Thursday night (23), the Chief of Staff sought out Haddad in an act of pacification.

Complaints about the minister’s posture, however, extrapolate the friction with Haddad. Esplanada colleagues complain about Rui’s style adopted at ministerial meetings.

A kind of government manager, Costa sets a time limit for ministers to intervene, generally three minutes, even gesticulating to stop them when the limit is exceeded. He usually interrupts other ministers in a harsh way, provoking dissatisfaction.

Last week, Rui interrupted Márcio França (Ports and Airports) as the portfolio holder tried to detail his proposal to reduce airfare prices.

Still according to reports from the participants, at the meeting on Thursday (16) the head of the Civil House reprimanded colleagues, saying he did not allow parallel conversations.

Due to his temperament, Rui is compared to former president Dilma Rousseff (PT), also known for his rough style at the head of the Civil House. Lula himself compared him this week to the former president, calling the current Chief of Staff “Dilma in pants”.

Asked about the criticisms of different colleagues about his style, Rui said, through his advisory, that he seeks to “always evolve” and that he apologizes for “possible mistakes”.

“I have my temperament, I always try to evolve. I apologize for any mistakes, but I always try to get it right: I really want to help President Lula to rebuild Brazil. I’m focused on that and I want to contribute”, he declared.

Rui has also been the target of criticism from the top of the National Congress. Important leaders of the Chamber, for example, preferred that Costa not occupy the position.

The complaint in Parliament, which even comes from supporters, concerns the delay in authorizing appointments to positions in the federal administration.

Although the case also goes through the SRI (Secretary of Institutional Relations), an important part of the process is the responsibility of the Civil House. This is the case of checking the legal background of those chosen.

Allies assess that Rui, again, ends up paying the bill for a demand by Lula himself, who asked for rigor in the analysis of nominations.

The Civil House functions as a kind of central nucleus of the government and all the public policy projects of the Lula administration pass through there.

One of the roles of the folder is exactly to monitor the progress of the programs and demand results. More than that, as Lula himself stressed in a ministerial meeting, the Civil House has to endorse the proposals.

For one wing of the government, Lula put the minister in the position precisely because of the profile of demanding performance and being a kind of “manager” of the Planalto.

Rui would be, according to these allies, a spokesman for Lula’s apprehension regarding the government’s results. In a recent meeting, the president himself demanded creativity from his ministers when he heard from Paulo Pimenta (Secom) a proposal to adopt the name Novo PAC for the re-edition of the PT program.

With the Minister of Finance specifically, one of the reasons for the discomfort, according to allies of both and members of the Planalto Palace, was the negotiation around the fiscal rule, which will replace the spending ceiling.

Members of the Planalto consider that there is a dispute over who will have the final word on the design of the fiscal rule before it is sent for approval by Lula himself.

Last Friday (17th), Haddad presented the general lines of the proposal to Lula and Rui. Until then, the Minister of Finance had shown the design of the new framework to the vice president, Geraldo Alckmin (Industry), and to Minister Simone Tebet (Planning). Only afterwards did he discuss the topic with Costa and with Minister Esther Dweck (Management).

According to people close to Haddad, the fear was that the proposal would be bombed and changed to include more space for investment projects than the Minister of Finance would like.

After the meeting, the president asked that more calculations be made and that Haddad talk to economists and government leaders. The Civil House was also to carry out a series of simulations. Haddad’s allies say that the final design of the landmark should be done by Fazenda —and not by Rui.

There was also the inconvenience of technicians from the Civil House, who complained that the Treasury did not share studies and acted to keep the design of the landmark under lock and key.

After that episode, Haddad expressed discomfort with the leak of the two names that had been endorsed by Lula to occupy directorates at the Central Bank.

The Minister of Finance attributed the leak to his colleague from the Civil House, after Lula had already defined the names for the Central Bank based on Haddad’s suggestions —the formal referral would be made after the president’s trip to China, which begins on the 25th of March and runs through April 1. Costa’s allies attribute the clash to Haddad’s jealousy.

Members of the Planalto say that Haddad wanted to announce the names together with Lula and did not like that they were published by the press even before the president’s trip.

This Thursday (23), in an attempt to undo the uneasiness and the climate of clash between the Treasury and the Civil House, Haddad and Rui had a meeting to try to seal the peace.

The meeting, which was not initially on the official agenda, lasted about 40 minutes and took place at the Treasury headquarters. In the end, the two ministers went down to talk to the press and posed for photos, together and smiling.

“Attrition? Here, look at his smile, look at mine”, said Rui Costa in a friendly tone, flanked by a Minister of Finance who was also smiling.

Through his advisory, Rui also said on Thursday night that he was criticized when he was governor of Bahia for his “serious” style.

“The closest mayors would say: ‘Governor, you need to learn to say yes and be nicer when saying no’. I would answer: ‘Were your requests met?’ ‘Yes’. ‘Was I sincere when I told you no?’ ‘Yes’. ‘Did I string you along?’ ‘No,'” he said.

“That is, I concentrate my time on work. I am frank, I am sincere. Sometimes this clashes in politics. But I think that frankness helps to gain time. Society is anxiously waiting for quick answers”.

Lastly, he called Haddad a “great name” and a “qualified historical figure”. “He has a competent technical team. I want to be at his side, building”.