The new secretary general of the Presidency of the Republic, Minister Márcio Macêdo, who took over the portfolio this Monday (2), promised that the government will resume the instruments of popular participation in the construction of public policies. In a speech at the Planalto Palace, attended by representatives of social movements from the countryside and the city, Macêdo also criticized the previous government for extinguishing councils and reducing social participation. 
“Popular participation has always been and will continue to be the guiding principle of our governments. It is in our DNA and, therefore, our first major challenge will be to recover the instruments and public spaces for popular participation in government decisions. In recent years, these mechanisms of popular participation have been dismantled. The former government closed the palace doors to the people, destroyed the councils and put an end to conferences,” he said.
Traditionally, the General Secretariat of the Presidency of the Republic acts as a direct interface between the government, civil society and political agents, channeling and organizing social demands. Macêdo reinforced this role by committing to permanent dialogue. “Democracy only happens when the people are together in decision-making. We will make the General Secretariat a link between social movements and the Presidency of the Republic.”
Profile
Márcio Macêdo was a federal deputy for the PT in Sergipe between 2011 and 2015. He took office again last year as an alternate. Between 2015 and 2020, he was PT’s national treasurer. He is a biologist graduated from the Federal University of Sergipe and built his political career in this state.
He was a student leader, professor of the state education network, secretary of Popular Participation of the city of Aracaju, superintendent of the Brazilian Institute of the Environment and Renewable Natural Resources (Ibama) in Sergipe from 2003 to 2006 and secretary of the Environment and Water Resources from 2007 to 2010, during the management of then governor Marcelo Déda.
