BRASILIA (Reuters) – Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on Thursday replaced his tourism minister, the first cabinet reshuffle of his administration, as he seeks to shore up support for his political agenda from a powerful bloc of lawmakers.
Tourism minister Daniela Carneiro will be replaced by federal lawmaker Celso Sabino from the Uniao Brasil party, something the fragmented bloc of lawmakers called the ‘Centrao,’ or ‘Big Center’ had demanded in exchange for backing Lula’s initiatives in Congress.
The support from Centrao, known more for their horse-trading prowess than ideological commitments, is key to getting passing Lula’s legislative agenda, such as a tax reform bill being voted on Thursday.
At least 308 votes are needed in two rounds of voting in the plenary and the support of the Uniao Brasil party, with 59 federal lawmakers, can be decisive for the bill to advance.
(Reporting by Ricardo Brito; Writing by Carolina Pulice; editing by Diane Craft)