Bolsonaro Allies Pressure Regina Duarte to Resign from Special Cultural Secretariat

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Last week, with the backing of Jair Bolsonaro, the President’s allies began to pressure Regina Duarte to resign from her position as special secretary of culture before completing only two months in the post.

According to accounts, the President complained about the difficulty of dialogue with the actress and her resistance in implementing changes.

Regina has also been the victim of friendly fire from members of the secretariat who stayed on from past administrations and who, in their opinion, have not been appreciated by her to date.

Members of the government and the cultural sector who supported the selection of the actress for the position also said, anonymously, that Regina’s performance has been disappointing.

The actress took office on March 4th, after a long negotiation with TV Globo, which put an end to a contract of over five decades.

She had accepted the offer to join Bolsonaro’s team in late January, replacing Roberto Alvim, who was dismissed after shooting a video in which he paraphrased a speech by a Nazi German minister.

Bolsonaro has already told allies that he hopes Regina herself will decide to leave the government. He also gave carte blanche to his supporters to criticize the secretary.

Regina has been withstanding the pressure, although people close to her perceive in her publications on social media a sign of exhaustion. She has told allies that she will remain in the government for as long as the President so desires and has said that she trusts Bolsonaro and that she will take measures in the cultural sector.

When questioned, the press office of the Special Secretariat of Culture reported that “Regina Duarte continues working, meeting with the team, representatives of the cultural sector, determined to do her best for culture, aligned with President Jair Bolsonaro at all times”.

Since she took office, Regina has not made any significant announcements regarding the cultural sector. She has been urged by the artistic community to release funding for the sector at a time of hardship.

At 74, Regina is among the Covid-19 risk group and was advised not to keep up her routine of trips to Brasília. Since late March she has been working from São Paulo.

During this period, only two measures have been announced by the portfolio – the easing of deadlines for calls for tender and changes in the policies for reimbursement of shows and events suspended due to the crisis.

There has been no release of funds, as demanded by the sector, such as the release of the Audiovisual Sector Fund.

The artistic class was upset by the fact that the actress, in a meeting with Ministers of Culture at Unesco last week, said that the government included culture among the workers entitled to the R$600 emergency aid.

Professionals in the area were excluded from the benefit.

A bill by submitted by opposition legislators was passed to include artists among the beneficiaries, but Bolsonaro advised that the program should not be extended to any category.

According to the Secretary of Culture of Pará, Ursula Vidal, who chairs the forum of Culture state secretaries and leaders, the measures announced to date by Regina do not meet the needs of the sector and do not reach the whole country.

She advocates greater investment and explains that in several states there have been calls for edicts that are pending the release of federal funds.

At the Secretariat of Culture, Regina faces operational difficulties such as team shortages and lack of autonomy.

Although the portfolio has been formally transferred from the Ministry of Citizenship to the Ministry of Tourism, part of the structure that provides advice has not yet been shifted.

The secretary is also experiencing a tug-of-war with the president of the Palmares Foundation, Sérgio Camargo, who is publishing criticism of the actress. He relies on the President’s support and his ideological wing.

On Tuesday, attorney Pedro Horta was appointed Deputy Secretary of Culture. He was in charge of Regina’s office staff. Initially, the actress intended to appoint theatre producer Humberto Braga, but the name she advocated was barred by the Planalto.

The ideological wing reacted against Braga on the grounds that he is left-wing and published several photos of the producer with opposition party legislators.

In the artistic milieu, complaints are also growing. Two weeks ago, a group released a video demanding explanations from the secretary for the delay in implementing measures to contain the crisis in the cultural sector.

Source: Folhapress