MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Temer cabinet: inflation hawk in Finance and an anti-populist in foreign affairs

Meirelles, an inflation hawk who was the Central Bank governor during 2003-2011 has the job of winning the approval of the private sector and investors

Brazilian acting President Michel Temer on Thursday chose leading figures from nine centrist and conservative parties for his Cabinet, which for the first time in decades has no female ministers.

 
Temer, who had been vice president, replaced Dilma Rousseff of the center-left Workers Party, PT, Brazil's first woman head of state, who was suspended from office after the Senate voted 55-22 early Thursday to subject her to an impeachment trial.

While the heads of the Mines and Energy and National Integration portfolios still remain to be filled, the Cabinet could have no female representation for the first time since the 1970s, when Brazil was under a military dictatorship.

Temer's press office has confirmed two of the appointments: Henrique Meirelles and Senator Jose Serra, who will head the Finance Ministry and Foreign Ministry, respectively.

The appointment of Meirelles, an inflation hawk who was the Central Bank governor during the 2003-2011 administration of President Lula da Silva, Rousseff's political mentor and predecessor, is aimed at winning the approval of the private sector and investors, according to media reports.

Meanwhile, the inclusion of Serra, a former Sao Paulo governor and presidential candidate in 2002 and 2010, is expected to lead to an abrupt shift in Brazil's foreign policy and an end to its friendly ties in recent years with populist-led neighbors such as Venezuela and Bolivia.

Temer's decision to include nine different parties in his Cabinet also shows the priority he is placing on ensuring a strong relationship with Congress and guaranteeing legislative majorities.

But the choice of Henrique Eduardo Alves to head the Tourism Ministry and Gilberto Kassab to lead the Science, Technology and Communications portfolio came as surprises since both men had been part of Rousseff's Cabinet until just a few weeks ago.

Temer's Brazilian Democratic Movement Party, PMDB, a former PT ally turned foe, will hold the largest number of ministries of any single political grouping with six out of the 24.

Also represented are the Brazilian Social Democracy Party, the Brazilian Republican Party, the Progressive Party, the Democrats, the Brazilian Labor Party, the Green Party, the Social Democratic Party and the Socialist People's Party.