Politics

Who’s who in Jair Bolsonaro’s new cabinet

jair bolsonaro

With President-elect Jair Bolsonaro confirming his pick for the Environment Ministry, his 22-person cabinet is now fully formed. In 22 days, he and his 22 picks will take office. We break down who are these people, and what to expect from them.

During the presidential race, Jair Bolsonaro promised to dramatically reduce the number of cabinet positions to shrink the Brazilian state. During Dilma Rousseff’s administration, there were 39 ministers. Her successor, Michel Temer, cut that down to 29. Mr. Bolsonaro had promised a “maximum” of 15 cabinet positions, which in the end became 22.

As expected, many of his appointments raised great controversy, ranging from military appointments, evangelical leaders and politicians involved in corruption – despite his promises to crack down on political misconduct.

Mr. Bolsonaro appointed the largest number of military officers to the cabinet since the end of the military dictatorship (1964-1985). There are three Army generals and two captains; one Air Force admiral and a lieutenant colonel. Not to mention the president-elect himself, a former Army captain, and his Vice President, retired Army general Hamilton Mourão.

But controversy came not only become of who Mr. Bolsonaro picked, but from which positions he chose to preserve. Some ministries, such as the Labor Ministry, were axed, despite being considered “untouchable.” In a country where 12 million people are out of a job, the office responsible for developing job-creation policies had its duties split across several ministries.

Another trait in the Bolsonaro cabinet is the presence of “super ministries,” resulting from the merging of different offices into one. In practice, this risks centralizing a great deal of power into the hands of a few people, who could, in the case of success, cast a shadow over the president when the 2022 campaign gets closer.

Chief of Staff: Congressman Onyx Lorenzoni

A politician for over 20 years, Mr. Lorenzoni is accused of pocketing kickbacks between 2010 and 2014. He is alleged to have received dirty money from the JBS meat packing group. Last week, the Supreme Court formally placed him under investigation.

During his time in Congress, Mr. Lorenzoni was never seen as a great negotiator. He earned his position due to his early support for Mr. Bolsonaro in Congress. But even before taking office, the president-elect has shown signs that his trust in his new Chief of Staff is not absolute. He has named other people to be a liaison between the president’s office and Congress (which is usually the Chief of Staff’s job), and has contradicted and undermined Mr. Lorenzoni on several occasions.

Department of Institutional Security: Army General Augusto Heleno

Retired since 2011, Gen. Heleno was the first military commander of the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH). Once his term there was over, he became the military commander in the Amazon. His tenure was marked by his political speeches, constantly challenging then-president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. One time, he described Lula’s policies towards indigenous people as “regrettable, if not to say chaotic” during a lecture at the Military Club.

Military officers are forbidden from expressing political opinions in Brazil, but this did not prevent Gen. Heleno from, for example, defending the Brazilian military regime during a ceremony at the Army Headquarters in Brasilia when he retired.

In 2013, the general was found guilty by the Federal Accounting Court (TCU), for authorizing illegal contracts that cost the government BRL 22 million — and favored his friends.

Secretary of Government: Army General Carlos Alberto dos Santos Cruz

General Santos Cruz was also a commander of the peacekeeping mission in Haiti between 2006 and 2009. He also served as Force Commander of the United...

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