Alckmin defends tax reform and reindustrialization in possession of the MDIC

Vice President Geraldo Alckmin (PSB) said, this Wednesday (4), that the tax reform and the country’s reindustrialization are fundamental for the resumption of the country’s development.

The speeches took place during the ceremony in which he took office as Minister of Development, Industry and Commerce. The ceremony took place at the Planalto Palace and was attended by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT), sworn in four days ago.

Although Lula declared, in November, that the ex-governor of São Paulo would not run for ministerial vacancy because he was vice-president (elected), Alckmin will accumulate both functions starting in January.

“Reindustrialization is essential so that we can resume sustainable development and that this recovery takes place from the perspective of social justice”, said the vice president and minister during the ceremony.

Like other ministers, Alckmin used the word “reconstruction” several times and criticized the government of President Jair Bolsonaro (PL).

At another time, the vice president also defended carrying out the tax reform — which he classified as fundamental — to achieve development and to advance a contemporary industrial policy.

On the occasion, the petista said that he was chosen to coordinate the transition of government, because “he is not running for a ministerial vacancy because he is the vice president of the Republic”.

Afterwards, his name gained strength for the portfolio in view of Lula’s difficulty in finding a holder, upon hearing the refusal of businessmen for the post. Josué Gomes da Silva, from Coteminas, and Pedro Wongtschowski, from the Ultra group, declined the invitation.

With Alckmin in the portfolio, the PSB accumulates three ministries: Development, Industry, Commerce and Services, Justice and Public Security; and Ports and Airports.

The vice president took on a leadership role by coordinating the transitional cabinet of the then-elected government.

For allies of Alckmin and Lula, the power delegated to the former toucan at this moment indicated that he could play a key role and become a right arm of the president-elect from January 1, 2023, sharing coordination and negotiation functions in the government.

It is clear, with the functions he has performed, that he will try to take off the decorative vice costume that fell to his predecessors Michel Temer (MDB) and Hamilton Mourão (Republicans).

As a member of Lula’s economic team, Alckmin will have to balance between articulating with the productive sector and replacing the president — which should happen frequently given the expectation that the PT member will dedicate himself to strengthening relations with foreign governments.

More than vice and minister, Alckmin is also one of the candidates for the 2026 presidential race, since Lula declares that he does not intend to run for re-election.

It is precisely in the economic team that his opponents will also act in this area: Fernando Haddad (PT), future Minister of Finance, and Simone Tebet (MDB), future Minister of Planning.

In the campaign, Alckmin was the incarnate version of a new letter to the Brazilian people. It became the first sign that Lula was looking beyond the PT to return to the Planalto and was the guarantor of a broad front that shares the assessment that Bolsonaro represents a risk to democracy.

Since joining Lula’s team, Alckmin has maintained his understated style. An hour before being announced minister, questioned by journalists about the post, he shook his head without saying yes or no.