Lula chooses Macaé Evaristo as Minister of Human Rights

The president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva (PT) decided this Monday (September 9, 2024) to choose the state deputy of Minas Gerais Macae Evaristo (PT) as its new Minister of Human Rights. The deputy is in Brasília and met personally with the Chief Executive.

Evaristo was nominated to Lula by the president of the PT, Gleisi Hoffmannand by members of the party from Minas Gerais, a wing that feels sidelined in the government. One of Macaé’s guarantors is Gleide Andrade from Minas Gerais, the party’s treasurer.

She will replace former minister Silvio Almeida, who was fired on Friday (September 6, 2024) by Lula after accusations of sexual harassment, including against the Minister of Racial Equality, Anielle Franco.

The exemption was published in an extra edition of the DOU (Official Gazette of the Union). Here is the full (PDF – 1 MB). The dismissal was confirmed in an official note released by Secom (Secretariat of Social Communication).

The statement states that the “serious allegations” against Almeida led Lula to consider “the minister’s continued presence in office is unsustainable”. The note also highlights that “no form of violence against women will be tolerated” in the government.

The PT from Minas Gerais will have the first seat that the directory will occupy in the Esplanade, which currently has 39 ministries, but with 38 ministers, since Esther Dweck (Management and Innovation in Public Services) took over as interim head of Human Rights, accumulating the function of the 2 ministries.

As shown by the Poder360President Lula signaled that he wanted a black woman to replace Almeida as a symbolic response capable of stopping the crisis that is ravaging the Planalto due to the accusations against the former minister. The government’s understanding is that there could be no mistake in the choice.

Also considered for the position were: the sociologist Vilma Reis and the National Secretary for Access to Justice, Sheila de Carvalho.