Congresswoman Tereza Cristina (DEM-MS) was nominated on Wednesday (7th) as the Minister of Agriculture in the Bolsonaro administration.
Her name was proposed by the Ruralist Caucus, as the representative is also president of the Agriculture and Livestock Parliamentary Front (FPA), and, according to an ally, she will have veto power over the nomination for Minister of Environment.
The caucus had endorsed Bolsonaro before the elections' first round.
The first female nomination for a position in the higher ranks of the upcoming administration happened after critics pointed out that Bolsonaro's transition team was composed only by men, and that could mean that the same composition could go on after the inauguration.
Bolsonaro rebutted the criticism on Twitter. "Color, gender or sexual orientation of anyone in my team is not a concern of mine. What I am looking for is people who want to make Brazil grow and fight organized crime and corruption, among other priorities," he wrote.
Representative Alceu Moreira (MDB-RS), the vice-president of FPA, announced Tereza Cristina's nomination. According to Moreira, Bolsonaro promised that she would have a say on the appointment for the Environmental Department.
"The merger [of Agriculture with Environmen] is not going to happen," Moreira said. "He [Bolsonaro] didn't say we could nominate the new Minister of Environment, but he said we could veto names."
The merger was a campaign promise of Bolsonaro's. But the president-elect backtracked on the idea, after pressure from environmentalists and allies associated with agribusiness.
Translated by NATASHA MADOV