Bolsonaro says ministers should back the government or remain quiet

By Xiu Ying, Contributing Reporter

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – President Jair Bolsonaro said on Saturday 27th that his ministers should follow his line of thinking or be “silent” should they disagree.

“Who names and appoints the president of Banco do Brasil? Is it not me? I do not need to say anymore, then,” said Bolsonaro.

“The guidelines have changed. What do the masses want? Respect for families. No one wants to persecute minorities. We do not want public money to be used in this way.”

Bolsonaro issued the statement a day after the Secretary of State’s Office, commanded by General Carlos Alberto dos Santos Cruz, repudiated an order from the Secom – the Presidency Secretariat of Communication – that all commercial material from the administration, including that of the state, would be subject to prior examination by the executive.

In a statement released on Friday evening, the Government Secretariat – under which Secom is conditioned – said that the measure violates State Law, “because it is not for the direct administration to intervene in the content of market publicity of state-owned companies.”

After Bolsonaro ordered Banco do Brasil’s commercial to be taken down, Secom sent an e-mail to state-owned banks with instructions to control commercials and “maximize the alignment of all advertising actions.” But he had to withdraw from his resolve.

Thirty seconds long, the Banco do Brasil commercial depicted tattooed black women and men, as well as a transexual.

Directed at the young public, the advertising campaign showed actors representing racial and sexual diversity. “It’s not my style, you know it’s not my style,” Bolsonaro reinforced on Saturday.

This issue cost the director of Communication and Marketing of the bank, Delano Valentim’s job.

Asked about how he intended to control state advertising, the president replied that ministers should follow his thinking or not speak up.

“Look, for instance… I had a guideline, guns. Am I not pro-guns? Then either my ministers are pro-guns, or they must remain silent. It’s the rule of the game”, he claimed.

According to Bolsonaro, all his ministers have autonomy of action. “We do not want to prevent anything, but whoever wants to do other than what most want, do not do so with public funds, that’s all,” said the president.