Barbosa at BNDES, Wellington at Planning, Josué at MDIC; see quotes for Lula 3

The process of selecting high-ranking members in the economics area for the third term of president-elect Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) has been challenging for the future management, which needs to think about the names while analyzing the design of the new folders.

Businessman Josué Gomes, president of Fiesp (Federation of Industries of the State of São Paulo), was invited by Lula to take over the new MDIC (Ministry of Development, Industry and Foreign Trade), which will be recreated. The possibility of the two meeting in São Paulo was considered, but Lula asked Josué to meet him in Brasília.

Strengthened, the ministry would take over Apex (Brazilian Agency for the Promotion of Exports and Investments), for example. The nomination would represent an honorable departure for Josué, who faces strong opposition in the federation. Claiming difficulties in choosing a successor in the business, the businessman asked for time to make up his mind.

Planning is a strategic practice that the PT administration is keen to recover, but the impasse over the most appropriate format for reconstituting the ministry responsible for the area still remains.

A single folder would bring together Budget control, management of the Union’s assets and personnel policy, including discussion of State reform, should it occur.

The agency would also tend to be responsible for running the new investment program, which should have a strong environmental component and attract spotlights and resources. The idea is that it will be a kind of Green New Deal (new green deal) for infrastructure, in allusion to the concept spread by a wing of the Democratic Party in the United States of using sustainable projects to stimulate the economy.

This would transform the new Planning into a powerful ministry, with the potential to overshadow the Ministry of Finance, something that is politically uninteresting in the scenario of strengthening Fernando Haddad’s name as a leader in the PT.

Therefore, a possible division of the folder is still under discussion, to separate the attribution of planning from the functions more connected to the day-to-day of the public machine, such as the management of servers.

While Lula does not hit the hammer on the format, some names have already appeared as quoted, among them the economist Esther Dweck, who was the budget secretary of the portfolio in the government of Dilma Rousseff, the elected senator Wellington Dias (PT-PI) and the also senator-elect Camilo Santana (PT-CE). The last two are former governors of their respective states.

Dias’ name, however, faces resistance after the PEC (proposed amendment to the Constitution) of Gastança, which expands the budget of the elected government, skidded at the start under his management.

Already confirmed, the future Minister of Finance, Haddad, is on the field to form his secretariat. Two of those quoted have already been confirmed, economists Gabriel Galípolo, who will be the executive secretary, and Bernard Appy, who has been appointed special secretary for tax reform.

This Wednesday (14th), Haddad stated that by the end of the week he would confirm who will head the National Treasury Secretariat and the Federal Revenue Service, two key posts in the body’s structure. The Treasury is the body responsible for cash and public debt management, while the Treasury is responsible for collecting taxes and overseeing taxpayers.

One of the names aired for the Secretariat of Economic Policy, Marco Bonomo, professor of finance and monetary economics at Insper, caused discomfort in the coalition. Bonomo has already publicly defended that the expansion of the Budget, negotiated via PEC, would have to be around R$78 billion, signaling a mismatch with what has been advocated by Lula’s team. The PEC pending in Congress authorizes an extra expenditure of BRL 168 billion.

Already confirmed for the position of president of BNDES (National Bank for Economic and Social Development), Aloizio Mercadante would like to have economists Nelson Barbosa and Tereza Campello on his board. However, both can still go to other posts and there was no definition.

Economist Antonio Corrêa de Lacerda, president of Cofecon (Federal Economic Council), was also asked to occupy a directorate at the development bank and was open to conversations, but has not yet received a formal invitation.

Economist Guilherme Mello is an indication taken for granted, but the fate is now cloudy. Mello coordinated Haddad’s economic program when he ran for the Presidency in 2018. He has always been a quoted name for Finance. He has a profile for the SPE (Secretary of Economic Policy). In the 2022 campaign, he worked together with Mercadante in organizing the proposals for the Lula 3 government program. He also has the potential to be drawn to work at the BNDES.

The selection for the presidency of the two other public banks, Caixa and Banco do Brasil, reached an impasse. The president of the PT, Gleisi Hoffmann, defends the nomination of women, a request considered pertinent since until now most of the announced names are men. However, the coalition has alleged difficulties in finding women for vacancies.

Another challenge is to accommodate political interests.

Petrobras remains an unknown quantity. Senator Jean Paul Prates (PT-RN) is a popular name for the presidency, but the centrão has shown interest in influencing the nominations. The fast-paced approval of changes to the State-owned Law, made by the House on Tuesday night (13), was seen as a blunt sign that political groups are trying to secure nominations for public office.

The political dispute for nomination for the MME (Ministry of Mines and Energy) returned. Three MDB chiefs seek to have the prerogative to nominate the portfolio holder: senators Eduardo Braga (AM), Jader Barbalho (PA) and Renan Calheiros (AL). The strongest name a few weeks ago is Senator-elect Renan Filho (AL).

União Brasil has also claimed the portfolio. The name of the leader of the party in the Chamber, Bahian deputy Elmar Nascimento, was aired, a suggestion that was very poorly received by technicians in the sector.

The nomination for the energy portfolio would have the potential to offset the dissatisfaction of Renan’s family with eventual PT support for the re-election of his political competitor, Arthur Lira (PP-AL) for the presidency of the Chamber.

However, while the PEC stops in the Chamber, Lira himself signals that he would also like to make ministerial nominations. Information circulates that he would like to appoint the Minister of Health.