I coordinate on the president's behalf, not command the others
On the first working day of Lula's new government, Rui Costa — economist, former governor, and now minister overseeing Brazil's Civil House — offered a quiet but telling gesture: he asked that the word 'chief' be stripped from his title. In a country long accustomed to hierarchical power, the move signaled an intention to govern through coordination rather than command, placing partnership at the center of an administration inheriting a divided nation and a long list of unfinished promises.
- A symbolic but deliberate act — removing 'chief' from a ministerial title — opens Lula's government with a direct challenge to Brazil's tradition of top-down executive power.
- The tension between ambition and institutional reality surfaces immediately: the 'Civil House of the Presidency' name has existed since 1992, meaning Costa's true target is the formal 'minister-chief' designation, which still requires official approval.
- Alexandre Padilha is positioned as the lead voice in Congressional negotiations, with Costa explicitly casting himself as a supporting player — a division of roles that tests whether collaborative rhetoric can survive contact with legislative politics.
- An urgent economic agenda presses beneath the structural symbolism: job creation, the revival of the 'Minha Casa, Minha Vida' housing program, thousands of stalled infrastructure projects, and a renegotiated relationship with agribusiness all demand early results.
- Even the question of Lula's political future is left deliberately open — Costa declining to rule out a 2026 run, quietly keeping a door his president had appeared to close.
When Rui Costa appeared on TV Cultura's 'Roda Viva' on January 2nd, 2023, one of his first announcements was a request to remove the word 'chief' from his ministerial title. Rather than 'Chief Minister of the Civil House,' he would simply be 'Minister of the Civil House of the Presidency of the Republic.' To some, the distinction seemed semantic. To Costa, it was a declaration of governing philosophy.
The former Bahia governor explained that the change was meant to dismantle any notion of a minister who stood above the others — someone who commanded rather than coordinated. His role, as he described it, was to advance the president's priority actions on Lula's behalf, not to impose hierarchy on the cabinet. The collaborative model extended to Congressional relations as well: Costa made clear that Alexandre Padilha, the minister for Institutional Relations, would lead negotiations with deputies and senators, with Costa playing a supporting role.
There was a historical wrinkle worth noting. The 'Civil House of the Presidency' name had been in use since 1992, predating the current government by decades. What Costa was genuinely seeking to change was the formal 'minister-chief' designation attached to the position itself — a modification that would require official approval from the incoming administration.
Beyond the organizational symbolism, Costa laid out a substantive agenda. Job creation would be central. The government planned to restart the 'Minha Casa, Minha Vida' housing program and complete thousands of infrastructure projects — creches, schools, health clinics — that had sat unfinished for years. He also argued for renewed state investment in key sectors, citing Petrobras as an example and criticizing the 'dollarization model' of fuel pricing that had taken hold under the previous government.
On agribusiness — a sector that had largely backed Bolsonaro — Costa drew on his years governing Bahia, pointing to the PT's long-standing partnerships with agricultural entrepreneurs in the state's western regions as a model for national dialogue rather than confrontation.
One carefully worded moment stood out: asked whether Lula would seek reelection in 2026, Costa declined to treat it as settled. 'If Lula maintains his energy and his drive,' he said, 'who knows if he might do another term?' — leaving open a possibility the president himself had seemed to foreclose.
Costa, 59, brought deep institutional experience to the role, having begun his career in union organizing at Camaçari's petrochemical complex before rising through Salvador's city council and Bahia's state government. His executive secretary, Miriam Belchior, a former Planning minister, completed a leadership structure built — at least in its stated ambition — on coordination over command.
Rui Costa, the newly appointed minister overseeing Brazil's Civil House, sat down on Monday, January 2nd, 2023, to discuss how Lula's government would operate—and one of his first moves was symbolic but deliberate. He wanted the word "chief" removed from his title. Instead of "Chief Minister of the Civil House," the position would simply be "Minister of the Civil House of the Presidency of the Republic." The distinction might seem semantic to outsiders, but Costa was making a statement about power and structure.
The former governor of Bahia explained his reasoning on the TV Cultura program "Roda Viva." He said the change was meant to dismantle the notion that one minister stood above all others—that there existed a hierarchy where someone was "chief of the others." Instead, Costa described his role as coordinating the president's priority actions on Lula's behalf, a function of administration rather than command. It was a framing designed to signal that Lula's cabinet would operate on principles of partnership and cross-cutting collaboration, not top-down authority.
There was a wrinkle in Costa's narrative, though. The name "Civil House of the Presidency of the Republic" had actually been in use since 1992. Before that, the office was part of the Government Secretariat. What Costa was truly seeking to change was the official title of the position itself—the "minister-chief" designation—which would require formal approval from the incoming administration. During the same appearance, Costa made clear that Alexandre Padilha, the minister for Institutional Relations, would take the lead on Congressional negotiations. Costa positioned himself as a supporting player in those dialogues with deputies and senators, reinforcing the collaborative model he was describing.
Beyond the organizational restructuring, Costa outlined an ambitious agenda. Job creation would be central to Lula's focus, he said. The government would resume the "Minha Casa, Minha Vida" housing program and complete thousands of stalled infrastructure projects—creches, schools, health clinics that had sat unfinished for three or four years. Costa mentioned that companies with settlement agreements owed money to the Brazilian government, and the administration was exploring whether those funds could accelerate project completion. Such an approach, he suggested, could rapidly generate thousands of jobs while delivering essential services.
On the question of federal investment, Costa argued for a return to state involvement in key sectors. He cited Petrobras as an example, saying it made no sense for the company to burn off natural gas or resell it at pumps when it could be channeled into production and industry. The goal was to increase supply and lower prices through domestic investment, avoiding what he called the "dollarization model" of fuel pricing that had taken hold.
When pressed on how Lula's government would approach agribusiness—a sector that had backed Jair Bolsonaro—Costa drew on his experience as Bahia's governor. He pointed to the state's strong agricultural sector, particularly in the western region around cities like Barreiras and Luís Eduardo Magalhães, where the PT had built lasting partnerships with agro entrepreneurs over years. The party's approach, he suggested, was dialogue and sustained collaboration, not confrontation.
Costa also addressed a question that had shadowed Lula's campaign: would the president seek reelection in 2026? During the campaign, Lula had said he would not pursue a fourth term, noting that an 81-year-old could not reasonably seek reelection. But Costa was more cautious. He said he was not taking it as a given that Lula would not run again. "If Lula maintains his energy and his drive," Costa said, "who knows if he might do another term?" It was a careful opening, leaving the door ajar for a possibility Lula himself had seemed to close.
Costa, 59, an economist and former Bahia governor from 2014 to 2022, brought decades of political experience to the role. He had started his career in union organizing at Camaçari's petrochemical complex in the 1980s, served as a city councilman in Salvador, and gained prominence as a state secretary under Jaques Wagner. His team at the Civil House would be led by Miriam Belchior, the former Planning, Budget, and Management minister, who took the number-two position as executive secretary. The structure was set. The message was clear: this would be a government built on coordination, not command.
Citações Notáveis
The relationship between ministries will be transversal and based on partnership, not hierarchy— Rui Costa, Civil House Minister
If Lula maintains his energy and drive, who knows if he might do another term?— Rui Costa, on possibility of 2026 reelection
A Conversa do Hearth Outra perspectiva sobre a história
Why does Rui Costa care so much about removing one word from his title? It seems like a small thing.
It's not about the word itself. It's about what the word signals to everyone else in the cabinet. If you're the "chief," you're above them. By removing it, he's saying: I coordinate, I don't command. It shapes how ministers will relate to each other.
But doesn't someone have to be in charge? Who breaks ties if ministers disagree?
That's the tension he's not fully answering. He says Lula will decide, and he'll coordinate on Lula's behalf. But he's also saying Alexandre Padilha leads on Congress. So there's a division of labor, not a hierarchy.
What about the housing program and the stalled projects? That sounds like it could actually move things.
It does, if they can use those settlement funds. Three or four years of unfinished schools and clinics is real damage. But it depends on whether the control agencies—the audit courts, the attorney general—will approve using that money the way Costa envisions.
He seems cautious about Lula running again in 2026, even though Lula said he wouldn't.
He's leaving room. He says Lula's energy and drive matter. It's a political hedge—not closing a door that Lula himself seemed to close during the campaign.
And the agribusiness outreach—is that realistic after Bolsonaro?
Costa's betting on the PT's track record in Bahia. He's saying: we've worked with agro before, we can do it again. Whether that works nationally is different from what worked in one state.