Lula to create new ministry for small and medium-sized businesses
President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said Tuesday (Aug. 29) he will create a ministry to deal with issues linked to small and medium-sized enterprises, assisting those who wish to become entrepreneurs. It will be the 38th ministry in President Lula’s administration.
The goal, he said, is to create over 2 million formal jobs by the end of the year. In the first half of the year, the balance stood at 1,023,540 new jobs.
“But we know there are a lot of people who want no formal contract. Many want to be individual entrepreneurs, or collective entrepreneurs. So I’m proposing the creation of a ministry for small and medium-sized enterprises, cooperatives, and individual entrepreneurs, so there’s a specific ministry to take care of these people, who need credit and opportunity,” the president said during the weekly program Conversa com o Presidente, aired on Canal Gov.
“That’s the role of the state—to create conditions for people to be able to participate,” he argued, pointing out that small businesses generate 60 to 70 percent of Brazil’s formally registered jobs.
During his 2022 election campaign, Lula advocated the creation of this ministry, but when defining his ministerial structure, small businesses were allocated to the Secretariat for Micro and Small Business and Entrepreneurship, under the Ministry of Development, Industry, Trade and Services, headed by vice-President Geraldo Alckmin.
Cabinet reshuffle
The new minister will soon be announced by the president in order to bring the PP (“Progressists”) and Republicanos closer to the government’s base in Congress.
In previous statements, President Lula argued that closer ties would make votes on relevant matters easier. Together, the two parties hold 90 seats in the lower house.
