President-elect Jair Bolsonaro has chosen Ricardo Vélez Rodriguez, a Colombian professor naturalized Brazilian, to be the next Minister of Education. The announcement happened on social media.

"I would like to announce the nomination of Ricardo Vélez Rodriguez, a philosopher with over 30 published books and professor emeritus at the Brazilian Army Command and General Staff School, to be the next Minister of Education," Bolsonaro wrote.

 
"Vélez teaches Philosophy. He has a master's degree in Brazilian thought by the Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro (PUC-RJ), a doctorate by Universidade Gama Filho, and a post-doc by the Centre de Recherche Politiques Raymond Aron, in Paris. He has extensive teaching and managing experience."

Rodriguez also has degrees in Philosophy and Theology from Colombian universities. He is also an associate professor at the Federal University of Juiz de Fora, in Minas Gerais.

According to the Brazilian Constitution, ministers need to be a Brazilian citizen, over 21 years of age and have full political rights. That means that both Brazilian-born and naturalized citizens are eligible. Only the Ministry of Defense requires its head to be Brazilian born. Rodriguez is a naturalized citizen.

^{Translated by NATASHA MADOV}

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