Brazil´s Centrão Voting Bloc Presses Bolsonaro for Banco do Brasil and Mint Appointments

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – With the election of Arthur Lira (PP-AL) to head the Chamber and Rodrigo Pacheco (DEM-MG) to run the Senate, parties in the centrão bloc are pressuring the Planalto Palace to pay them back, as early as the start of this year, for their support of President Bolsonaro’s favored candidates.

The bloc’s demands are not limited to a place in the Ministries Esplanade, such as the leadership of the Citizenship and Regional Development portfolios. The parties are also demanding second and third-tier governments posts signaled during the legislative campaign or pledged in 2020, but which have not yet been delivered.

The list of positions that have been under discussion since last Tuesday, according to presidential advisors, extends from the command of Banco do Brasil (BB) to the direction of the Mint.

With the rearrangement of allied base parties, the interest of the governing parties also includes positions that had previously been pledged or were already held by nominees of DEM, MDB and Solidarity legislators. They were dismissed as a direct result of their parties’ support for Deputy Baleia Rossi (MDB-SP) as President of the Chamber of Deputies.

Last month, Bolsonaro urged Minister of Economy Paulo Guedes to dismiss the president of Banco do Brasil, André Brandão. The President was angered by the voluntary resignation plan launched by the state-owned financial institution. Bolsonaro was persuaded to suspend the dismissal by a request from Guedes and Central Bank President Roberto Campos Neto.

However, according to reports from sources, since the start of last week he began to again consider a replacement, which would be part of the cabinet reform sought by the Centrão.

Brandão’s dismissal began to gain ground after Centrão deputies advocated for Banco do Brasil to be run by a person aligned with Bolsonaro, like Pedro Guimarães who runs Caixa (Federal Savings Bank). They also criticize the plan to close 361 branches announced by BB.

Although controlled by the federal government, Banco do Brasil is also a publicly-traded company, whose share price may drop as a result of governmental interference. The assessment of government officials is that the appointment of a Centrão nominee may prevent a cabinet change to accommodate one of the base parties.

In addition to the financial institution, the federal Mint has also become an object of desire. However, in this case, Bolsonaro has been resisting a change. PTB, which was once in charge of the body, has again taken an interest in the position.

For the time being, Bolsonaro has stated that he will keep Vice Admiral Hugo Cavalcante Nogueira in the post. The Mint, in charge of printing money, is perceived as strategic by the top military officials.

In the Regional Development Ministry, which should also be included in the cabinet reform, the Housing and Sanitation Secretariats are the target of the PL and PP parties, respectively. The two parties hold the largest memberships in the Centrão bloc, with 41 federal deputies each.

In addition to them, the bloc is interested in federal positions that have been pulled from Baleia’s supporters, such as the Superintendency of the National Historical and Artistic Heritage Institute (IPHAN) in Acre and the Superintendency of the National Institute of Colonization and Agrarian Reform (INCRA) in Sergipe.

Since last year, deputies and senators have been saying that the process of accepting nominations for government positions has slowed.

Apart from passing through the Brazilian Information Agency’s (ABIN) technical filter, the suggested candidates also undergo what has been dubbed the “Ideological ABIN,” a social network sweep to detect posts that criticize the government, for instance.

According to them, to elect Lira and Pacheco, most hints of support made by the government were not based on positions, but rather on the offer of extra-budgetary resources, money earmarked for the electoral bases coffers upon the deputy’s referral.

The President plans to reform his cabinet by July. The most immediate change, which should occur soon, is the transfer of Onyx Lorenzoni from the Ministry of Citizenship – which will be handed over to the Republicanos party – to the General Secretariat of the Presidency.

Upon taking over the Ministry of Citizenship, the party linked to the Universal Church will be able to appoint hundreds of posts linked to 19 secretariats and undersecretariats and seven directorates.

The General Secretariat should keep its current structure, although it is expected that the head of the Subcommittee on Legal Affairs (SAJ) will report directly to Bolsonaro, no longer to the Minister.

By returning Onyx to the Planalto Palace, where the cabinet operates, the President’s intention is to reestablish a balance in the so-called “kitchen cabinet”, currently controlled by military ministers, targets of criticism for their lack of political experience.

In addition to Onyx, Bolsonaro intends to rehire José Vicente Santini, a friend of the President’s family who was fired from the post of Chief of Staff’s executive secretary after using a Brazilian Air Force jet for an exclusive trip to India.

In September, Santini had already been reinstated in the government with the position of special advisor to Minister of Environment Ricardo Salles. Now he is expected to secure a position in the General Secretariat.

Now Minister of Citizenship, Onyx was Chief of Staff at the time of Santini’s dismissal. The assistant’s return to the Planalto, however, is not being credited to Onyx, but rather to Bolsonaro himself.

Source: Valor Econômico