President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva gives power this Tuesday to the new Minister of Tourism, Gustavo Feliciano, son of deputy Damião Feliciano (União Brasil-PB). Feliciano will replace Celso Sabino.
The exchange was announced by Lula last week after Sabino was expelled from União Brasil for disobeying the party’s order to leave his government post.
Government members sitting at the Palácio do Planalto say Gustavo Feliciano’s appointment is the result of the government’s agreement with a wing, União Brasil, which is committed to supporting Lula’s re-election next year. A member of the União Brasil executive affirms that this approach was approved by the party’s president, Antônio Rueda, and confirms that it was articulated by a group of parliamentarians from the party most aligned with the federal government. The party has 59 deputies, and this group brings together around twenty.
Father of the new minister, Damião Feliciano is part of the wing most closely linked to the government within the party and is one of Planalto’s vice-presidents in the Chamber.
Furthermore, according to a government member, it is believed that ministers and members of the second level of government should align with Lula and vote for the PT member next year. This will apply to parties that claim to be independent or that are preparing presidential candidacies in 2026.
Another parliamentarian who followed the conversations says that the choice of Gustavo Feliciano also has the support of the President of the House, Hugo Motta (Republicanos-PB), because they are allies in the state.
Gustavo Costa Feliciano is the son of former Paraíba vice-governor Lígia Feliciano, who left the PDT for União Brasil in 2023, and of federal deputy Damião Feliciano (União-PB).
Gustavo was Secretary of Tourism and Economic Development of Paraíba during the first government of João Azevêdo. He took office at the start of his first term and resigned from his post in December 2021. His mother, Lígia, broke with Azevêdo and did not participate in the coalition that re-elected the governor of Paraíba in 2022. Before ascending to state leadership, Gustavo served as president of the municipal board of the PDT, the acronym that housed the family in the state.
Born in Campina Grande, Gustavo graduated in law and was previously director-president of the Higher Education Union of Campina Grande (Unesc). He has never held elected office and has an Instagram profile with 3,000 followers, and the last post is from 2021.
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