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Brazilian gov't may shut down 10 ministries in major reform

Xinhua, August 25, 2015 Adjust font size:

Brazilian Minister of Planning Nelson Barbosa said Monday that the administration of President Dilma Rousseff will undertake a major reform to restructure the government and may cut as many as ten of Brazil's ministries.

The news came after Rousseff held a coordination meeting with the cabinet. Barbosa revealed five key guidelines for the plan, which he said would be finalized by September.

The first and most widely discussed aspect of the plan is the streamlining of the government.

With several prominent politicians having been arrested as a result of the Brazilian corruption scandal, the closing of up to ten ministries is being taken by many in the country as a sign that the government is looking to rein in political power and improve oversight.

While the list of ministries to be closed has not been set, Barbosa explained that the operational scope of each ministry would be reviewed to ensure the efficient implementation of public policies.

He said that one proposal being considered suggests doing away with the Secretariats of Institutional Relations, Civil Aviation, Ports, Human Rights, and Strategic Affairs, as well as the Ministry of Fishing and Aquaculture and the Institutional Security Cabinet.

Furthermore, the Central Bank, the Comptroller General and Attorney General's Office would be maintained but would lose their ministry-level status.

In April, the Secretariat of Institutional Relations was already scrapped and its functions were incorporated into the vice president's office.

Sources at the cabinet meeting told Brazilian daily O Globo that the functions of the Secretariat of Human Rights would be either transferred to the office of the Secretary General of the Presidency or to the Ministry of Justice.

Other targets of this reform are to reduce the total number of government officials and to sell off properties, which Barbosa said were not being properly used or were no longer needed.

Barbosa said the state owns a number of properties that incur debts or are not earmarked for priority usage. The final form of this plan will therefore include a program to sell off these properties.

While the reform is seen as an attempt by Rousseff to regain support after months of massive street protests against her rule, it may bring her some political headaches.

The Brazilian Democratic Movement Party (PMDB), the main coalition partner of Rousseff's Workers' Party, is reported to be planning to field its own candidate in the 2018 presidential elections.

Also on Monday, PMDB leader and current Vice President Michel Temer had to fight off rumors that he would be stepping down from his role in charge of managing the ruling coalition. Endi