Bolsonaro to reshuffle cabinet as popularity falls
President Jair Bolsonaro removed from the Chief of Staff Office this Wednesday one of his closest ministers in order to hand it to one of the main leaders of the so-called "Centrão," or Big Center, a cluster of center-to-right parties.Senator Ciro Nogueira (Progressive Party, PP, of Piauí) is expected in the coming days to take over the position currently occupied by retired Army General Luiz Eduardo Ramos, Mr. Bolsonaro’s friend since the early 1970s, when they both joined the Army Cadets Preparatory School. The change will take place in the next few days.Mr. Ramos, in turn, was "demoted" by the president. He will take over the General Secretariat of the Presidency, a kind of mayor of the presidential palace, replacing the federal deputy Onyx Lorenzoni. Also a former head of the Chief of Staff Office, Mr. Lorenzoni will be the new Minister of Labor. The ministry had been abolished and will be recreated by Mr. Bolsonaro.The change was defined after conversations between Messrs. Bolsonaro and Nogueira in the past few days. It was also approved by Senator Flávio Bolsonaro (Patriots of Rio de Janeiro). The president’s son is the most pragmatic politician in the family and has a good relationship with Mr. Nogueira.Economy Minister Paulo Guedes was also consulted. But Mr. Ramos was taken by surprise and, according to reports, did not like the change.The changes take place at a difficult time for Mr. Bolsonaro, with polls showing a sharp drop in his approval rating.The president has been feeling the effects of an eroded image because of the Covid investigative parliamentary committee (CPI), which is looking into the alleged mishandling of the federal government during the pandemic. With these changes, he is trying to improve his relationship, especially with the Senate, which has become a thorn in the flesh. By exchanging a retired general for a professional politician, Mr. Bolsonaro hopes to have an easier time in the Senate from now on.In addition, the senators have been showing resistance to the name of the attorney-general, André Mendonça, the president’s choice to occupy the vacant seat at the Federal Supreme Court (STF) after the retirement of Marco Aurélio Mello on the 12th. Sources say that Mr. Nogueira’s first mission will be to persuade the Senate to approve Mr. Mendonça as new justice.Appointed by the speaker of the Chamber of Deputies, Arthur Lira (Progressive Party, PP, of Alagoas), the minister of the Government Secretariat (Segov)...
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