Paulo Teixeira assumes Agrarian Development and talks about maintaining ‘uncomfortable friendship’ with social movements

Federal deputy Paulo Teixeira (PT-SP) took over this Tuesday morning (3) as Minister of Agrarian Development and Family Agriculture, a portfolio recreated by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT).

At a ceremony at the Conab (National Supply Company) auditorium, in Brasília, Teixeira gave a brief speech in which he stated that he would manage with open doors to social movements.

“We will work with an open door, in a permanent dialogue, welcoming suggestions and criticism, in that ‘uncomfortable friendship’. Come on up.”

The new minister, who is one of the main cadres of the PT in São Paulo, also praised Lula and recalled the impeachment of Dilma Rousseff, in 2016, saying that every time someone prioritizes the poorest in his administration, it is defeated by the “forces of backwardness”.

Former critic of rural workers’ movements, especially the MST (Movimento dos Trabalhadores Sem Terra), Bolsonaro paralyzed the agrarian reform program and handed over the management of the area to the ruralist caucus, intensifying action initiated in the Michel Temer government (2016-2018) .

There was the shelving of new expropriations and settlements, INCRA’s budget bottleneck and the focus being diverted to delivering provisional property titles to former settlers.

In his speech, Teixeira also promised that he would contribute with one of Lula’s symbolic promises, that of putting an end to hunger in the country. And he also alluded to another symbol of the PT campaign, the promise to provide Brazilians with access to sirloin steak and beer.

“Every Brazilian will have the right to breakfast, lunch and dinner, at the very least, because I know there is a discussion about picanha and beer,” he said.

The ceremony was attended by, among others, the vice-president Geraldo Alckmin (PSB) and the national president of the PT, Gleisi Hoffmann.

In his speech, Alckmin drew laughter from the audience when he said that he had a lot of affinity with the theme for having five bushels of land in Pindamonhangaba, his hometown.

Gleisi highlighted the reactivation of the ministry. “It is a great joy to return with our MDA, as we missed this ministry. It is a fundamental ministry for Brazil.”

Teixeira had initially been quoted for the Ministry of Communications, but the portfolio was directed towards attracting center and right-wing parties — in this case, União Brasil de Juscelino Filho (MA).

At age 61, the new minister was serving his fourth consecutive term as a federal deputy. With a background in the area of ​​law, his main internal activity within the party was, until then, in the legal area.