SA Panel: MDIC recreation with Alckmin is well received by the industry

The announcements made by Lula to the industry this Thursday (22) were met with optimistic statements.

The recreation of a department dedicated to the sector –the Ministry of Development, Industry and Commerce– was a demand from industrial entities, and the nomination of elected vice president Geraldo Alckmin (PSB) was pointed out as a sign of the importance of the reindustrialization agenda.

Privately, however, there is an assessment in the sector that putting him in the folder was a lack of option after the refusal of big businessmen.

Fiesp (Federation of Industries of São Paulo) said that the recreation of the ministry “meets the greatest interests of the country, considering that a long-term industrial policy is a priority.” Rafael Cervone, acting president of the federation, stated that Alckmin’s nomination “shows the importance that [o novo governo] is giving to reindustrialization.”

For the CNI (National Confederation of Industry), the industry will be in good hands with the nomination of the elected vice-president. The president of the national entity, Robson Braga de Andrade, said that the vice president knows the priorities of the country’s development agenda and the industry and knows what needs to be done to reverse deindustrialization.

Firjan (Federation of Industries of the State of Rio de Janeiro) praised Alckmin’s choice. In a note, he stated that the elected vice president has a conciliatory profile, capacity for dialogue, experience and political trajectory.

“The new minister brings together the necessary qualities for the challenges posed for the development of a solid and consistent industrial policy.”

The president of the CBIC (Brazilian Chamber of the Construction Industry), José Carlos Martins, says he believes that Alckmin’s experience with public management could result in a good mandate at the head of the industry portfolio. The name of the former governor of São Paulo is an excellent choice, he said.

For José Ricardo Roriz, president of Abiplast (plastics industry), the vice president has experience and articulation capacity. “We hope that he maintains the advances that were made for greater competitiveness in the productive sector and that he accelerates the steps towards reindustrializing Brazil”, he says.

Nelson Mussolini, president of Sindusfarma (which brings together the pharmaceutical industry), also sees the name of Alckmin with optimism. “There is no developed country in the world without a strong industry. The recreation of the MDIC, now under the command of vice-president Alckmin, gives us the certainty that we will develop industry in Brazil, in a sustainable way and generating wealth”, says Mussolini .

As Panel SA showed, executives from the industrial sector considered that Lula would need to resort to a symbolic name for the portfolio.

In the assessment of these businessmen, by previously announcing the command of the BNDES (National Bank for Economic and Social Development), which will be presided over by Aloizio Mercadante, the president-elect would have inverted the order of importance of the positions, reducing the prestige of the portfolio.

Josué Gomes, from Coteminas, who also heads Fiesp (Federation of Industries of the State of São Paulo), and Pedro Wongtschowski, from the Ultra group, were invited by Lula, but declined.

Joana Cunha with Fernanda Brigatti