Lula administration to have 37 ministries
The government of President-elect Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who takes office on January 1, should have 37 ministries. The novel framework was announced by Bahia state Governor Rui Costa, who will be chief of staff under the Workers’ Party (PT) administration.
“We’ve defined the ministries that will be split up. First, I’d like to underscore a request from the president, […] that positions should remain the same, i.e. the cost and volume of spending should be the same regardless of the amount of ministries. So, we’re coming toward a 37-ministry framework, including the ministries aiming to ensure the cross-sectionality of the government’s actions,” he declared.
Among the ministries to be reintroduced are those of Women, Racial Equality, and Indigenous Peoples. The Ministry of Economy should be divided into three others—Finance, Industry and Trade, and Planning and Public Management, the last one aimed “to improve public management, […] slash the costs of the public apparatus, and optimize technology use in public services,” Costa noted.
The current Ministry of Infrastructure will be broken into two—Transport, to be in charge of highways, and another for ports and airports. The ministries of Fishing, Cities, Culture, and Sports will also be brought back.
There will be no increase in the public apparatus following the expansion of ministries, Costa added, only a redistribution of positions.
Political negotiations
The future chief of staff said there is no deadlock between the new government makeup and the vote on the constitutional amendment bill loosing up the spending cap—a move aimed to ensure a BRL 600–real allowance under the Bolsa Família cash transfer program. Recent news stories say that party leaders in the lower house are trading the approval of the bill for possible cabinet nominations.
“Regarding the vote at the lower house, the president expects, we expect, the Brazilian people expect that the representatives act like the members of the Senate, where the vote was motivated by their concern with Brazil and the Brazilians, those who are most in need in the country. At no point did the Senate attempt to use the vote as a bargaining chip for a cabinet position, and we are confident the lower house will follow suit,” he declared.
