Bahian wing of the government presses for head of Petrobras’ legal department in court

The Bahian wing of the government, formed by the leader in the Senate, Jaques Wagner (PT), by the Minister of the Civil House, Rui Costa, and by the Minister of Social Communication, Sidônio Palmeira, has defended behind the scenes the choice of Wellington Cesar Lima e Silva, attorney general of Petrobras, to replace Ricardo Lewandowski in the Justice and Public Security portfolio.

The choice of the new minister should take place this week. Executive secretary Manoel Carlos de Almeida Neto assumed the role on an interim basis for a few days.

According to members of the government, the most explicit action in favor of the head of Petrobras’ legal department came from Jaques Wagner. When he was governor, the current government leader indicted Lima e Silva to head the State Public Ministry of Bahia. The head of the Civil House acts discreetly, as does Sidônio.

Former Secretary of Legal Affairs (SAJ) of the Civil House, Lima e Silva is described by different aides as a person who is strictly trusted by Lula. He held the position at Palácio do Planalto between January 2023 and August 2024. In this role, he was responsible for all decrees, ordinances and laws published by the government and dealt almost daily with the president.

The Minister of the General Comptroller of the Union, Vinicius de Carvalho, who is close to the Minister of Finance, Fernando Haddad, is also mentioned as a possible name for Justice. Another name defended by PT leaders is that of lawyer Marco Aurélio de Carvalho, from Grupo Prerrogativas.

The possibility of transferring the Minister of Education, Camilo Santana, to Justice was also considered internally because of his experience in the area of ​​public security during the period in which he was governor of Ceará. In office, Camilo faced a Military Police strike in 2020 that lasted 15 days and increased the number of murders in the state.