The announcement took observers by surprise. Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro reshuffled his government on Monday, March 29, with six changes of ministers, including those for foreign affairs, justice and defense, the communications ministry said in a statement.
Only the departure of the head of Brazilian diplomacy, Ernesto Araujo, was expected, the latter being implicated in the fiasco of the policy against the coronavirus which killed nearly 314,000 people in Brazil.
The arrival of a third woman in the government
Almost four months after reaching half of his four-year term, President Bolsonaro also changed the post of Minister of Casa Civil, halfway between Chief of Staff and Prime Minister, that of Lawyer General of the Union, responsible for the defense of the country’s legal interests.
Note also the arrival of a third woman in this government, out of twenty-two ministers in total, the deputy Flavia Arruda, at the secretariat of the presidency.
Two weeks ago, another important change took place at the head of the Ministry of Health, General Eduardo Pazuello having been replaced by cardiologist Marcelo Queiroga. He is the fourth Minister of Health since the start of the epidemic in Brazil.