Singer Margareth Menezes will head the Ministry of Culture in Brazil

After a meeting with president-elect Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva this Tuesday morning (13), singer Margareth Menezes confirmed that she accepted the invitation to be Minister of Culture, a portfolio that will be recreated in 2023. The announcement was made to journalists at the Centro Cultural Banco do Brasil (CCBB), in Brasília, where the transition team of the new government is gathered.

“It was a very encouraging conversation for people from the culture. We talked and I accepted the quest. I receive this as a mission, because it was a surprise for me too”, said the singer.

The Bahian is the first woman to be announced as part of Lula's ministerial team. "The president said that for him it is of great importance, and that he wants to build a strong Ministry of Culture to meet the wishes of the people of culture and of Brazil for the potential of our culture", he added.

During the campaign, Lula promised the creation of regional cultural committees to promote artists and local initiatives that "flee from the Rio-São Paulo axis".

To journalists, the future minister also said that it will be necessary, first, to "lift up" the ministry and study sectorial areas to "make Brazil's culture recognized nationally and internationally".