Brazil President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva is mulling handing more cabinet positions to centrist parties in an effort to cement the congressional support that has begun to advance key parts of his legislative agenda.
(Bloomberg) — Brazil President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva is mulling handing more cabinet positions to centrist parties in an effort to cement the congressional support that has begun to advance key parts of his legislative agenda.
Lula’s government last week announced it would replace his tourism minister to shore up the backing of a key party in its coalition ahead of a round of priority votes. The leftist leader has now opened negotiations over other positions with members of the Centrao, a bloc of parties that wields significant influence in Brazil’s conservative congress, according to four people with knowledge of the discussions.
Lula is currently analyzing requests from Centrao parties for control of the Ministry of Sport, the Ministry of Social Development, the public bank Caixa Economica Federal, and a public health foundation, according to the people familiar, who include lawmakers and a government official. They all requested anonymity because they are not authorized to speak publicly about the talks.
A prior round of negotiations with Centrao parties helped unlock Lula’s legislative agenda last week, when 382 lawmakers in the lower house voted in favor of a major overhaul of Brazil’s tax system that the government backed. But further concessions may be necessary with the lower house set to consider Senate changes to the tax reform bill and the government’s fiscal plan, as well as other Lula proposals that have less support, in the second half of the year.
Firming up support from the bloc could deliver as many as 140 votes to Lula’s coalition in the lower house, the person from the government said. Together with leftist parties, that could push him beyond the 308 votes needed to pass constitutional amendments in the chamber.
During a live broadcast Tuesday, Lula acknowledged the need to build a broad coalition in a legislature divided among lawmakers from more than 20 parties.
“A party that wins the elections needs to build a majority to govern Brazil, so that you can have peace of mind in voting for things that the government considers to be important for the country,” he said. “You have to have a majority, otherwise you kill yourself.”
Lula resumed the outreach almost immediately after votes concluded last week, hosting leaders from the Centrao parties for dinner at the presidential residence Friday night. During the meeting, he thanked lower house Speaker Arthur Lira and the lawmakers for their support, he said on Twitter.
The government has sought to demonstrate that the negotiations over new positions in government are advanced, and that changes could happen as soon as August. From the parties’ perspective, however, progress has been slower.
“It’s still speculation,” Gilberto Occhi, who is considered a possible candidate to take over Caixa Economica, said in a text message Monday night. “I had no contact with the government.”
Representatives Andre Fufuca and Silvio Costa Filho, under consideration to become the ministers of social development and sport, respectively, are also waiting for nods from Lula’s team. They declined to comment on the negotiations.
More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com
©2023 Bloomberg L.P.