Brazil’s new chief of staff proposes pact with opposition

At the ceremony of transfer of power at the Planalto presidential palace, Brazil’s newly sworn-in president’s Chief of Staff Onyx Lorenzoni today (Jan. 2) resorted to a “political pact” between government and opposition on behalf of “love for Brazil” and the respect for ideological differences. In his view, room for debate will be preserved, but “guaranteeing the future of every Brazilian” is crucial, he went on to argue. He mentioned the meed for “structuring measures,” like the overhauls to be considered in Congress.

Lorenzoni’s statement was made in the presence of President Jair Bolsonaro and three cabinet members with minister status: Gustavo Bebianno, the president’s secretary-general; General Carlos Alberto dos Santos Cruz, head of the government’s secretariat; and General Augusto Heleno, chief of Institutional Security.

“It is not possible that the opposition cannot comprehend, like the government, that we have—in some movements to be faced within a few months—the capacity of first looking at Brazil, then, second, at the families of Brazilians, and third at the present being lived by the people,” he said. “Dialog will be the signature of this government.”

Political disputes, he argued, will be preserved. Members of the government, he added, are willing to debate with the opposition. “We to turn good ears to those opposing our government.”

The minister talked about the direction to be taken by the country’s new president. “We know we have the responsibility of leading Brazil. President Bolsonaro is always the first to reiterate that we have a mission, that we have to get it right on a daily basis, that we can’t make a mistake. One of the ways to achieve that is for those conducting Brazil to have good ears for those who oppose our government.”

The chief of staff noted that the new Congress, to take office in February, will bring 249 new representatives and 46 new senators. The number of women in Parliament increased, he made a point of saying. “The challenge awaiting us is having the capacity to hold dialog, respect our divergences, but always putting Brazil first. The pact we want is a pact for Brazil,” he said.