Mercadante to 247: "I am suffering a speculative attack"

Marco Damiani _ 247 – Minister Aloízio Mercadante doesn't seem uneasy about the government's current situation. "It's part of the process," he says, regarding the barrage of criticism directed at President Dilma Rousseff. "Only the government is responding to the crisis, trying to engage in dialogue and propose measures. That's what will remain when the narrative of this period is written."

The Minister of Education, who has been elevated to a central position in the presidential team since the beginning of the year, does not seem very concerned about the 2014 election, appearing confident.

"We will win the electoral-ideological debate; we are the ones who listen to society the most and we practice a people's government."

Could it be, then, that the message is being misunderstood, as shown by Dilma's drop in the polls?

- The media is heterogeneous in its interpretation of government actions. We have more problems in the mainstream press, but we've gained a lot of ground on social media. The internet is proving to be a fundamental information tool, and the government's message gets across better in that arena.

SPECULATIVE ATTACK - The minister is really complaining about the way he's being treated. "I'm the target of a speculative attack," he says. "When I engage in dialogue, they say I'm backing down, but when I present measures, I'm seen as intransigent. There's no consistency in this criticism. This can't go on," he complains.

Mercadante includes in this speculative attack the strong rumors that he had a meeting with Vice President Michel Temer and the Minister of Aviation, Moreira Franco, to orchestrate the ouster of the Minister of Finance, Guido Mantega. Nonsense, he says.

- In letters, the two sources for this story that came out in Veja magazine deny the magazine's claims. It's not a serious matter. I've known Guido for 30 years, I've always been supportive of him and always will be. In a meeting, I mentioned taking measures, but in a crisis of this magnitude, saying that isn't criticism at all; the distance is too great. Guido knows this.

PADILHA NOT YET - The minister remains in the position of not considering running for governor of São Paulo in 2014. But, contrary to what one might assume, he is not yet fully committed to the pre-candidacy of his colleague Alexandre Padilha, from the Ministry of Health.

My candidacy is a closed matter. There's a leaning towards Padilha, but it's too early to tell.

There is confidence, however, that the government will win in 2014. "We will win the electoral-ideological debate. Our field is well defined. All of our projects are popular. All of them, including, of course, the More Doctors program, were discussed with civil society organizations. Only we are engaging in dialogue."

Why, then, is there so much confusion in understanding the proposals and so much strain on the government?

"Those of us who were born on the streets know that everything is achieved through a lot of struggle; it's never been any different. We're used to it. We've always faced this debate, and we've won. Proof of that is our ten-year popular government. The progress is impressive," says the minister, enthusiastic about the Mais Médicos program, despite all the outcry from the medical profession.

We have 400 doctors in Brazil, and most understand that we are implementing a large-scale popular medicine program. Of the 1.841 municipalities that registered, 63% are located in the Amazon and the semi-arid Northeast. That's where we will take the doctors.

Regarding the presence of foreign doctors, he works with the data that registrations were made from 43 countries, with Spain, Argentina, and Portugal leading the way. Cuba would have been in fifth place.

The proposal to increase the medical residency period to two years after graduation, according to him, fulfills "a historical demand of the profession." We are changing the entire system to train better doctors.

DEMOCRACY CHANGE - The minister has a particular diagnosis regarding the protests that are erupting in the country.

We are experiencing a transition from a consumerist democracy, with a global reach, to a participatory democracy. The demand for better public services is legitimate.

But he saw ill will, in the traditional media, against the government:

- There were 140 hours of broadcast television during 10 days of calls for a protest. It was an avalanche, but the narrative of this period will show that we are the only ones with proposals for the streets.

Mercadante is not worried about rumors that he is out of favor with President Dilma, due to the repercussions of initiatives such as Mais Médicos (More Doctors).

"I was called upon to assist in the debate with society and parliament, to strengthen our arguments, to help propose solutions. Once that's done, I will return to my exclusive post as Minister of Education. This talk about distancing myself from the president is not true. On my last trip to São Paulo, she invited me to go along twice, but there were important meetings in Brasília and the president understood my reasons. There's nothing to it."

-