Brazil Lula Sees Running Mate in Key Cabinet Job If Elected

(Bloomberg) -- Brazil’s presidential front-runner Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva is likely to appoint his centrist running mate to a key cabinet position to reinforce his commitment to a moderate political and economic agenda if elected in October, according to two people familiar with the matter.

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Geraldo Alckmin could helm several important ministries, including Finance or Agriculture, the people said, requesting anonymity because the discussions are not public. In the past few weeks, his name became stronger to lead the economic team, according to one of them.

The alliance with Alckmin was seen as the biggest sign yet that the leftist ex-president is moving away from radical members of his Workers’ Party and closer to the moderate views that the former Sao Paulo governor has embodied during his three-decade political career. By appointing his vice president to a key cabinet position, Lula would be doubling down on that commitment.

Asked for comment, a representative for Lula’s campaign said cabinet jobs won’t be discussed before the election. Alckmin’s press office said there has never been any discussion about government positions as he is focused on winning the election.

Read More: Lula Picks Centrist Running Mate as Allies Charm Brazil’s Elite

If Lula defeats President Jair Bolsonaro next month, he will need to build bridges not only with congress to approve reforms, but also with investors who are worried about Brazil’s public accounts. Financial markets are particularly concerned with his promises to get rid of the country’s most important fiscal rule, a spending cap that limits government expenditure to the previous year’s inflation rate, in order to boost social programs and public investment.

During the campaign, Alckmin has already received the mission to build bridges with agribusiness, industry and the financial sector.

Less than three months before the first-round vote, opinion polls show voting intention is pretty much settled for the front-runners, with Lula winning 42% of the vote and Bolsonaro taking 34% in a FSB/BTG Pactual survey published early Monday. The incumbent gained 1 percentage point from the previous poll, while Lula lost 1 percentage point, both moves within the margin of error of 2 percentage points.

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Lula, who has already said he wants his finance minister to have “political vision and versatility,” won’t make decisions about cabinet members before being elected, said one of his top advisers, adding however that Alckmin would play an important role in any scenario.

Read More: Lula Says His Economy Chief Would Be Political, Not Bureaucrat

Other names have also been cited for the finance chief job, including former Health Minister Alexandre Padilha, a close ally to Lula, and Sao Paulo gubernatorial candidate Fernando Haddad, in case he loses the race.

When first elected president in 2002, Lula surprised financial markets by choosing Antonio Palocci, a physician and former mayor of a medium-sized city in the state of Sao Paulo, as his finance minister, the most powerful job in the cabinet.

(Updates with latest opinion poll in seventh paragraph.)

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