Rui Costa sworn in as President’s Chief of Staff
Rui Costa officially took up the command of the Office of the President’s Chief of Staff on Monday (Jan. 2), in a ceremony at the Planalto presidential palace. In his inauguration speech, Costa criticized the previous government of Jair Bolsonaro, stating that Lula’s transition team had identified works that were declared as complete, but, in fact, they are still under construction. "The initial priorities will be to get Brazil back on track. To get out of this moment of complete paralysis. We don't even know how many works in Brazil are paralyzed."
The minister explained that priorities will be defined. One of them is the resumption of Minha Casa, Minha Vida (My Home, My Life), a social home building program announced by President Lula. "We have hundreds of houses ready...since Dilma`s government, and they haven't been inhabited yet. This is unacceptable, and they will all be occupied in the first half of this year. All of them," he said.
Costa added he will meet with each of the other 36 new cabinet members who took office on Monday (2) to hear the demands of each ministry.
Considered one of the most important ministries, because of its proximity to the president of the Republic, the office of the President’s Chief of Staff directly advises the head of the federal executive branch in the management of its functions, and also prepares, analyzes, and sends decrees and legislative proposals to the National Congress.
Profile
Born in Salvador, capital of the state of Bahia, Rui Costa is a 59-year-old economist. He was Bahia’s governor from 2014 to 2022 and federal representative from 2011 to 2014. He started his political career in the union movement, at the Petrochemical Pole of Camaçari, in the 1980s.
