Brazilian President-elect Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has unveiled the first cabinet picks of his incoming administration, including for key posts such as foreign relations minister, finance minister and chief of staff.
Speaking from his transition team’s headquarters in the capital, Brasilia, Lula on Friday announced that close ally Fernando Haddad, the former mayor of Sao Paulo, would become his finance minister.
He also chose career diplomat Mauro Vieira as foreign minister, former congressman Jose Mucio as defence minister, Bahia Governor Rui Costa as chief of staff, and the ex-governor of Maranhao state, Flavio Dino, as justice minister.
“When you mount a government, you look at Brazilian society as a whole,” Lula, who is set to take office on January 1, later wrote on Twitter.
“The [ministers] announced today are people qualified to perform the job. We will have other ministries with women, Black men and women, and Indigenous people. We will have a government with the face of Brazil.”
In October, Lula – a popular left-wing candidate representing the Workers’ Party (PT) – narrowly prevailed over far-right incumbent Jair Bolsonaro in a run-off presidential election that saw him earn 50.8 percent of the vote compared with 49.2 percent for Bolsonaro.
Despite unfounded accusations of election fraud from Bolsonaro’s party, Lula’s election was confirmed by the country’s highest election authority, the Superior Electoral Tribunal (TSE).
Lula had previously served as Brazil’s president from 2003 to 2010. But he was convicted in 2017 on corruption charges and money laundering, and his bid for the presidency in 2018 was cut short when he was arrested.
His running mate at the time, Haddad, took his place in the election, ultimately losing to Bolsonaro in a run-off.
The criminal convictions against Lula were annulled by Brazil’s Supreme Court in 2021, opening the door for Lula to launch his successful presidential campaign this year.
As he prepares to begin his third term as president, investors have expressed fears over his economic policy, calling for firm rules for public spending.
In November, Lula’s transition team approached Brazil’s National Congress with a multibillion-dollar plan to increase social spending, including a budget carve-out for welfare spending, a minimum-wage hike and greater funds for healthcare.
Lula has vowed to prioritise social spending over…