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President Jair Bolsonaro Promises to Recreate the Ministry of Industry and Foreign Trade, Abolished by Him at the Beginning of His Term
President Jair Bolsonaro (PL) promised to recreate the Ministry of Industry and Foreign Trade this year, which was abolished and included in the super ministry of the Economy at the beginning of his administration. The measure can be seen as a move by Bolsonaro to regain support, in an election year, from business owners dissatisfied with industrial policy and the reduction of import tariffs.
Former president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) – Bolsonaro’s main opposition in this year’s presidential race and leader in popular support polls – has also hinted that, if elected, he may fragment the Ministry of Economy and replicate a move from his first term in 2003 regarding the appointment of a businessman to head a new Ministry of Development, Industry and Foreign Trade.
The businessman in question, Luiz Fernando Furlan, was the first minister of the department and maintained close communication with Lula in order to convey industrial sector demands and requests directly to him.
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The business owners who requested Bolsonaro to recreate the ministry argue that there is currently no close and direct relationship with the government and that Guedes’ ministry is too extensive, causing industry and foreign trade matters to be sidelined.
Flávio Roscoe Reflects on the Government’s Industrial Policy
To Estadão, Flávio Roscoe – president of the Minas Gerais Industries Federation – stated that President Bolsonaro was sensitive to the business owners’ demands, considering that, after the pandemic and the war in Ukraine, there is a great need to strengthen the industry.
Roscoe also declared that when many things are concentrated in the Ministry of Economy, which is already large, the industry ends up becoming an appendix. He emphasized that the dissatisfaction is not directed specifically at Guedes, pointing out that in his ministry, there is a financial perspective among a group of liberal economists who do not always conduct a cost/benefit analysis for society as a whole.
For the president of FIEMG, Brazil cannot establish an industrial policy without presenting a Ministry of Industry and Foreign Trade. He also opined that the recent measures taken by the government, such as the reduction of import tariffs, are quite concerning, as they favor competition from foreign products.
With Bolsonaro’s Promise, Centrão Aims for Control of Another Ministry
During an FIEMG event in Minas Gerais, which had the presence of a large part of the Minas Gerais congressional delegation, Jair Bolsonaro assured that he will recreate the ministry by 2022. The pressure for such a measure is also related to the ambition of Centrão leaders to secure control of more ministries and this year’s elections.
According to Estadão, the formalization of Lula’s alliance with former Belo Horizonte mayor Alexandre Kalil (PSD), who will run for state governor, left the Planalto Palace on alert.
Guedes’ super ministry had five areas: Finance, Planning, Industry and Foreign Trade, Social Security, and Labor, of which the last two have already been separated. Due to such broad scope, the minister has been targeted, since the beginning of the government, by friendly fire from the president’s allies interested in parts of his ministry.
Finally, the president of the Chamber, Arthur Lira (Progressista-AL), is also one of the supporters of the ministry change. Lira, who was also present at the event held by FIEMG, stated that the president’s promise represented a firm gesture, and that only four more years are needed.
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