Emedebista Simone Tebet took office this Thursday (5) as the new Minister of Planning and Budget, in a ceremony at the Planalto Palace, which was attended by Minister Fernando Haddad (Finance).
It was the only ministerial inauguration that Haddad attended so far. The day before, he even confirmed his presence at the ceremony in which Vice President Geraldo Alckmin (PSB) officially took over as Minister of Development, Industry, Commerce and Services, but canceled at the last minute to prepare for a meeting with the President. Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT).
Tebet arrived at the event alongside Alckmin. Haddad came right behind, talking to the Minister of the Civil House, Rui Costa. Also in the group were the executive secretary of the Treasury, Gabriel Galípolo, hugging economist Elena Landau, who participated in the senator’s presidential campaign. Former President José Sarney was among the guests, as well as the Minister of Management, Esther Dweck.
In her speech, Tebet said she was doubly surprised by Lula’s invitation to lead Planning. “First, because I was chosen to be minister with a special invitation from the president and, second, because I ended up precisely on an agenda that I have some disagreement with,” she said.
“I have total synergy, coincidence in the social customs agenda, I was ready and prepared to take on any task in this area, I ended up in the economic agenda.”
“When I opened my mouth to thank [ao convite] and tell the president that I thought there was some mistake, that I said to him ‘but president, on this agenda, Minister Haddad, Minister Alckmin, Minister Esther, we have economic differences’, he simply ignored me as if to say ‘this is what I want it because I’m a Democratic president’. A democratic president doesn’t just want the same, he wants the different to add up,” he continued.
Tebet also agreed with Haddad and mentioned fiscal responsibility in his speech. “Our role, the Ministry of Planning, without ever neglecting fiscal responsibility, public spending and their quality, is to place Brazilians in the public budget.”
Tebet was announced Minister of Planning in the third and final wave of announcements by Lula’s team, on December 29, 2022. Defining her role in the federal government was one of the main challenges for the formation of the Esplanada dos Ministérios.
The emedebista initially signaled interest in the Ministry of Education, which ended up with the former governor of Ceará and elected senator Camilo Santana (PT). The senator then sought to be Minister of Social Development, but the PT resisted handing over the portfolio, which manages the Bolsa Família, to a possible rival in the 2026 dispute. The nominee was the PT candidate Wellington Dias.
The Ministry of the Environment was then offered, but Tebet declined. The portfolio ended with the federal deputy and reference in the area, Marina Silva (Rede), sworn in last Wednesday (4).
Even the trip to Planning, recreated with the dismemberment of the Ministry of Economy, was the subject of disputes. Haddad said that his initial intention was to choose a former state governor to occupy the portfolio, taking into account experience with managing large budgets. He cited the examples of Rui Costa (BA), elected senators Wellington Dias (PT-PI) and Camilo Santana (PT-CE) and Renan Filho (MDB-AL), in addition to Jorge Viana (AC).
Afterwards, the economist André Lara Resende gained strength to assume the ministry, who declined the invitation. Before Tebet was confirmed, the MDB tried to keep the PPI (Investment Partnerships Program) under the purview of the folder, but coordination continued with the Civil House. Tebet accepted “shared management” between the folders.
At the ceremony, the Minister of the Civil House, Rui Costa, stated that Lula defended the adoption of state policies, not government policies. “We will be together taking care of the present, in the forums of the government’s management core, in the budget board, in the PPI councils, in the councils of strategic works, participating in the day to day, and today [quinta] In the afternoon we already have a meeting.”
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