
Snapshot: Lula’s pick to lead Brazil’s communications ministry

President-elect Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has opted to give a place in his cabinet to a member of a right-leaning political party rather than someone from his own Workers Party (PT).
The communications ministry will now be headed by federal lawmaker Juscelino Filho, from Maranhão state, who belongs to the União Brasil party, which might provide vital support for Lula in congress.
União Brasil was part of the base of support for President Jair Bolsonaro's government. It did not back Lula during the election campaign, instead choosing to remain neutral in the October runoff.
Indeed, federal judge Sérgio Moro, who sentenced Lula to prison for alleged corruption, was elected as a senator for the União Brasil party in this year's election. Lula's sentence was subsequently quashed.
The announcement of the last of Lula's ministers, including 16 new names, was made on Thursday by the president-elect, just days before his January 1 inauguration.
PROFILE
Filho is a doctor specialized in radiology and diagnostic imaging. In politics he occupied the post of assistant secretary to the government of Maranhão state, among other positions. He was first elected as a federal lawmaker in 2015.
Of the bills or initiatives he has presented in congress, almost none are directly related to the communications area.
In 2018, Filho presented a proposal to amend the constitution "to institute research actions in all ministries, [with a] minimum application of resources to research, development and innovation actions, and to ban the block on the budget for RD&I."
News of the appointment will be music to the ears of telecom operators, given his liberal profile.
PT lawmaker Paulo Teixeira, one of Lula's staunchest allies, had been rumored to take over at the ministry. A member of the 'socialist resistance' group in the party, he is currently a federal lawmaker for São Paulo.
An executive from the communications sector told BNamericas on condition of anonymity that the possibility of a more left-leaning PT name at the helm of the ministry, even if relatively well qualified and knowledgeable about the area like Teixeira, was seen as a concern with respect to possible “abrupt U-turns” in the ministry's programs.
On the other hand, other entities in the communications sector have expressed opposition to the choice of a União Brasil member or the suggestion of other right-leaning politicians to lead the ministry.
While recognizing that the political makeup of the new administration will be key for governance, they say that an important ministry like communications should not be headed by a party that supported Bolsonaro.
POLICYMAKING
The communications ministry is responsible for formulating policy on telecommunications, broadcasting and managing mail and logistics services state-run company Correios.
Correios was one of the public companies listed for privatization by the Bolsonaro government, but it was eventually unable to take the process forward. Under Lula, Correios is expected to remain state-owned.
The same goes for state-run telco Telebrás and Empresa Brasil de Comunicação (EBC), both of which are linked to the communications ministry and were intended to be privatized by Bolsonaro.
In 2023, Brazil will see 5G networks expanded beyond state capitals, starting in January with those with more than 500,000 inhabitants.
The main issues for the ministry next year include talks on the regulation and taxation of big tech firms, updates to legal frameworks related to social networks, taxation of OTT companies and the formulation of a public policy to expand access to internet and devices for low-income families.
These latter two topics are on the wish-list of telecom operators.
Vivien Suruagy, president of Feninfra, the association of call centers companies and firms that install and maintain telecommunications and IT network infrastructure, said in a statement that the new government's "primary responsibility is to adopt public policies aimed at economic growth and job creation, with digital and social inclusion."
According to Suruagy, it is necessary to prioritize "essential reforms," such as the overhaul of the tax framework, reduce costs for the productive sector and generate a favorable business environment in the country.
“The telecommunications sector, for its part, will continue to invest to expand the sector, generating new jobs and making its contribution to the country's development”, said Suruagy.
Picture source: Juscelino Filho's website
Subscribe to the most trusted business intelligence platform in Latin America. Let us show you our solutions for Suppliers, Contractors, Operators, Government, Legal, Financial and Insurance.
News in: ICT (Brazil)

Brain selects 10 startups with 5G solutions for partnership with Algar Telecom
Among the 45 registered startups from Brazil and Portugal, 10 were chosen to join Algar Telecom's portfolio of 5G solutions, including HarboR, EVOL...

Brazil’s Eveo targets at least 3 new datacenters by 2025
The company, which just cut the ribbon on a Curitiba site, aims to open a datacenter in Fortaleza or Recife this year, followed by two other sites ...
Subscribe to Latin America’s most trusted business intelligence platform.
Other projects in: ICT (Brazil)
Get critical information about thousands of ICT projects in Latin America: what stages they're in, capex, related companies, contacts and more.
- Project: CloudHQ Paulínia data center (GRU technological campus)
- Current stage:
- Updated:
1 week ago
- Project: Cable submarino Firmina
- Current stage:
- Updated:
2 weeks ago
- Project: Norte Conectado Program (Infovia 02)
- Current stage:
- Updated:
2 weeks ago
- Project: Norte Conectado Program (Infovia 03)
- Current stage:
- Updated:
2 weeks ago
- Project: Norte Conectado Program (Infovia 04)
- Current stage:
- Updated:
2 weeks ago
- Project: CloudHQ Rio de Janeiro data center
- Current stage:
- Updated:
2 weeks ago
- Project: Hortolândia Data Center Extension 6
- Current stage:
- Updated:
3 months ago
- Project: Hortolândia Data Center Extension 5
- Current stage:
- Updated:
3 months ago
- Project: Data Center in Porto Alegre (SPOAPA01)
- Current stage:
- Updated:
3 months ago
- Project: North Connected Program
- Current stage:
- Updated:
6 months ago
Other companies in: ICT (Brazil)
Get critical information about thousands of ICT companies in Latin America: their projects, contacts, shareholders, related news and more.
- Company: Hitachi Brasil Ltda.  (Hitachi Brasil)
-
Subsidiary of Hitachi Ltd. offers a wide variety of systems, products and services, including heavy construction machinery, information systems, electronic devices,power and ind...
- Company: Net Service S.A.  (NetService)
-
The description contained in this profile was taken directly from an official source and has not been edited or modified by BNamericas researchers, but may have been automatical...
- Company: Consórcio Fraganet
-
Consórcio Fraganet is a company formed by Fraga de Medeiros Projetos Ltda. and Net Service SA for the execution of the Espírito Santo Fiber Optic Network (ES-Digital) project, w...
- Company: Fraga de Medeiros Projetos Ltda.  (Fraga de Medeiros)
-
The description contained in this profile was taken directly from an official source and has not been edited or modified by BNamericas researchers, but may have been automatical...
- Company: AmericaNet Ltda.  (AmericaNet)
- Company: Dedalus Prime Sistemas e Servicos de Informatica Ltda.  (Dedalus Prime)
-
Dedalus Prime (Dedalus) is a pioneer as a cloud services provider in Brazil, located in São Paulo; offering consultancy, strategic and migration analysis, and managed services i...
- Company: Telefônica Brasil S.A.  (Telefónica Brasil)
-
Telefônica Brasil S.A. is a publicly-traded Brazilian telecommunications company providing fixed and mobile voice, fixed and mobile broadband, ultra-broadband, data and digital ...
- Company: Governo do Estado do Ceará
-
The Ceará state government covers 184 municipalities and 8.7mn residents in northeast Brazil. It develops policies and projects through its infrastructure, water resources, educ...
- Company: Alloha Fibra