Rousseff announces inauguration of four new ministers

The inauguration on Monday (Feb. 3) of four new ministers has marked the beginning of Brazil’s cabinet reshuffle, a series of changes carried out by president Dilma Rousseff. She further announced that other changes are to take place before the end of this month.

“Such changes within the ministries are inevitable in a democracy, especially at some moments. Some of our ministers decided to look in the ballot for an opportunity to take on new executive tasks,” the president declared.

Aloizio Mercadante is leaving his position as head of the Ministry of Education in order to become Brazil’s Chief of Staff, in Gleisi Hoffman’s place. She is leaving the ministry to run for governor of the state of Paraná in October. I turn, the main seat of the Ministry of Education will be taken by José Henrique Paim, who has worked as the executive secretary in the same ministry since Fernando Haddad’s administration.

Apart from coordinating the government’s main projects, Aloizio Mercadante has also been assigned the task of acting as the middleman for the Palácio do Planalto and the team managing the president’s re-election campaign.

As for the Health Ministry, Arthur Chioro is to fill Alexandre Padilha’s position, who is to run for governor of São Paulo as a member of the Workers’ Party. In order to take up this new post, Chioro left the Health Secretariat of São Bernardo do Campo.

Thomas Traumann is moving up the hierarchy, as he is to lead the Secretariat of Social Communications in Helena Chagas’s place. Traumann headed the press office of former Chief of Staff Antônio Palocci, and had worked as the president’s spokesperson since 2012.

Translated by Fabrício Ferreira