MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Tebet to head Brazil's future Planning Ministry

It was reported that Senator Tebet would have preferred Social Development or Environment

Former Presidential candidate and Senator Simone Tebet, who endorsed Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in the Oct. 30 runoff against the incumbent Jair Bolsonaro, has reportedly accepted to become Brazil's next Planning Ministry, according to press reports published Tuesday in Brasilia. The official announcement is to be made Wednesday.

Under Lula, the current Economy Ministry is to be split into three offices: Finance, which will be headed by 2018 Presidential hopeful Fernando Haddad; Industry, to be handled by Geraldo Alckmin (also Vice President), and Planning, which will be in charge of the Investment Companies Program (PPI), which entails privatizations and a public-private partnership in several areas.

However, state-owned banks such as Banco do Brasil SA and Caixa Econômica Federal will not fall under PPI management.

Tebet, a current senator for the Brazilian Democratic Movement (MDB), has reportedly accepted Lula's proposal, although she was believed to be more interested in Social Development or Environment.

Lula's future Minister of Institutional Relations Alexandre Padilha confirmed Tuesday that they had received “a positive signal” from Tebet regarding Lula's offer.

The Planning Ministry will also run the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE) and the Institute of Applied Economic Research (Ipea), in addition to a department specialized in international development banks.