(Image: Waldemir Barreto/Senate Agency)
The Minister of Agriculture, Carlos Favarotemporarily stepped down from his position this Wednesday (25). According to an order signed by the Vice President of the Republic and acting president, Geraldo Alckmin, published in Official Gazette of the Union (DOU)the minister will be away from office until September 30 to deal with personal matters.
O Broadcast Agro (Grupo Estado's real-time news system) found that the minister's removal is due to the municipal elections. Fávaro is likely to dedicate himself in the coming days to the campaigns of allies in Mato Grosso, the state for which he is a senator on leave from the PSD and presides over the state party.
In recent weekends, Fávaro has been participating in campaign activities of fellow party members and allies, such as in Rondonópolis.
The PSD has 13 candidates for mayor in Mato Grosso, in addition to 26 for vice-mayor and 506 for councilor. Rafaela Fávaro, the minister's daughter, is a candidate for vice-mayor of Cuiabá, the state capital, on the ticket of state deputy Lúdio Cabral (PT).
The then Secretary of Commerce and International Relations of the ministry, Roberto Perosa, assumes the position of substitute for the Minister of Agriculture during Fávaro's absence, also according to a dispatch published in Official Gazette of the Union.
The Minister of Agrarian Development and Family Farming, Paulo Teixeira, is on vacation from September 23 to October 6, also due to the municipal elections.
The department's executive secretary, Fernanda Machiaveli, is acting as her substitute. Teixeira is participating in the campaigns of PT candidates and allies in the state of São Paulo. Teixeira's brother, Luiz Fernando Teixeira, is running for mayor of São Bernardo do Campo for the PT.
As shown by the Political Broadcastother ministers have participated intensely in municipal campaigns as a way of reducing pressure for President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva to personally enter the race.