President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva swore in, this Tuesday (23), the new Minister of Tourism, Gustavo Feliciano, in a ceremony at Palácio do Planalto. Upon taking office, Feliciano stated that tourism in the country needs to be for the people. “It can’t just be rich people,” he said.
“Tourism has to be of the people, by the people and for the people, promoting events that generate joy and the generation of jobs and income, promoting access to our beautiful destinations for those who earn less in the country, which is the majority of the population. This is done by making tourism more inclusive, more accessible. The people already work hard”, stated the new minister.
“If there is a way to measure that Brazil has progressed, it is to see people traveling, enjoying leisure with their families. Because happiness and joy cannot be a question of social class, it has to be a symbol of social justice”, he added.
The ceremony was attended by dozens of politicians and parliamentarians, including the governor of Paraíba, João Azevêdo, and the president of the Chamber, Hugo Motta (Republicanos-PB). Feliciano was nominated by the União Brasil party to assume the position of minister and is a political ally of Hugo Motta.
In his speech, the new minister thanked the trust and praised the leadership of the president of the Chamber. “I want to thank the trust of the União Brasil wing, which through its leader Pedro Lucas, I want to help find harmony and a solution so that Brazil can overcome its enormous problems”, he said.
“A special highlight that I would like to make for the greatest leader of my state, which at this moment is not only from Paraíba, but from Brazil: the president of the Chamber of Deputies, Hugo Motta. President Hugo, a man from Paraíba taking on a ministry of the Republic is an indisputable reflection of his discreet, but undeniable, strong leadership”, stated Feliciano.
Policy
Hugo Motta stated that the Chamber of Deputies will help Feliciano’s management with resources and actions to strengthen tourism in the country. “President [Lula]your decision to accept the nomination of Gustavo Feliciano, first of all, demonstrates your political sensitivity and your ability to bring together”, he said when speaking at the ceremony.
“We did not have an easy year, it was a year of many challenges, a year of clashes, but a year in which the National Congress did not fail your government. We had important approvals that give you the certainty that the government ends the year much better than the one it started”, said Motta, citing economic measures approved by the Legislature.
Profile
Born in Campina Grande (PB), Gustavo Feliciano has a degree in Law and was Secretary of Tourism and Economic Development of Paraíba between 2019 and 2021, in the government of João Azevêdo. The new minister is the son of federal deputy Damião Feliciano (União-PB) and the vice-governor of Paraíba, Lígia Feliciano.
The new minister succeeds Celso Sabino, who left office last week after the União Brasil party requested the vacancy in the department. He was expelled from the party after he decided to remain in office. In September, the party’s management had determined that the affiliates left the federal governmentamid the removal of União Brasil from the Lula government’s support base.
There is, however, a rapprochement and Sabino’s departure from the ministry was decided at a meeting last week between Union leaders and the Minister of Institutional Relations, Gleisi Hoffmann. He will resume his mandate as federal deputy and intends to run for a seat in the Senate next year.
