Minister of Finance: Fernando Haddad
Former Minister of Education (2005-2011), former mayor of São Paulo-SP (2013-2016), losing candidate for president in 2018 and for governor of São Paulo in 2022. He has a BA in Law, MA in Economics and PhD in Philosophy at the University of São Paulo. Despite the MA in Economics, he was appointed because he is a politician and not because he is an economist. He will have a staff of economists working with him.
There used to be three different departments related to the economy in Brazil: Finance (Fazenda), Planning (Planejamento), Industry and Commerce (Indústria e Comércio). Presidents Fernando Collor (1990-1992) and Jair Bolsonaro (2019-2022) merged these departments into a single one, the Department of Economy (Ministério da Economia). Lula will split again.
Is there some ideological reason for the decision between three and one economy-related department?
I’m not sure about the specifics of the Brazilian set up, but it’s often perceived to be the case that when both financial and broader economic policy matters are controlled by one government department then the priorities of the former will always trump those of the latter (ie, the department will prioritise fiscal discipline and balanced budgets over government spending designed to produce economic growth).
