Gleisi wants to leave the government in January.

Danilo Macedo
Reporter from Agência Brasil
Brasilia – The Chief of Staff, Gleisi Hoffmann, said today (27) that she intends to leave her post in January so she can decide her political future. The minister is being considered to run for governor of Paraná, competing, in this case, with the current governor, Beto Richa, of the PSDB. According to her, however, the decision has not yet been made.

“The decision to run for governor will be made next year, after I leave the Chief of Staff position. No decision has been made yet,” he said during a meeting with journalists at the Planalto Palace. “It’s a political assessment that I don’t want to mix with my current role. I like to keep things separate.”

Gleisi said that, to avoid the decision regarding her likely candidacy coinciding with her term in office, she requested a leave of absence from President Dilma Rousseff and is awaiting a response. The minister also said that, once the date of her departure is decided, she will collaborate in the transition of duties to her successor. "I, personally, prefer to leave in January, and the president also had that date as a reference," she indicated. The minister is expected to take vacation between January 13th and 23rd.

During a conversation with journalists, the minister spoke about the success of the government's actions regarding highway concessions, the Mais Médicos program, and the dialogue with the population during the June protests. As minister, Gleisi said she would have liked to leave the government with railway and port tenders completed, which did not happen.

Gleisi said that the year was full of challenges for the government and for Brazil, with an economic crisis that affected not only the country but also its main trading partners. She believes, however, that the country managed to provide effective responses to these challenges through investments and attracting more partners.

“We managed to close the year with a positive balance in our employment, with the lowest unemployment rate in our history. We expanded credit and programs for our agriculture and maintained and expanded our social programs,” said the minister.

Regarding the June protests demanding improvements in public services – such as transportation in large cities – the minister said that Dilma exercised courage and presented a consistent response to the demands of the population. "The president exercised courage by engaging in frank, open dialogue with the population, with the protesters, and the agreements she presented will address those demands."

Regarding one of the most controversial programs created in response to the protests, to expand basic healthcare services in the interior of the country and the outskirts of large cities, Gleisi said that the Mais Médicos program is an immediate response to a serious problem.

"It's not the answer to all our problems, nor is it the most structural solution, but it is a consistent and immediate response to a major problem: the lack of professionals to serve the population."