Boulos Joins Lula’s Cabinet, Scientist Ricardo Galvão Poised to Fill Vacant House Seat

Overview

• President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva appointed Guilherme Boulos to lead the Secretariat-General of the Presidency, creating a vacancy in his Chamber of Deputies seat.
• First substitute Ricardo Galvão said he has not been officially contacted and that his assumption of the mandate remains undecided with no timetable set.
• Rede and PSOL are negotiating the seat, and Galvão stated that a potential return of Minister Sônia Guajajara could block his path to the Chamber.
• Galvão, currently president of the CNPq, is evaluating whether to leave the science funding agency to take the congressional post.
• A former INPE director dismissed in 2019 after defending deforestation data against Jair Bolsonaro, Galvão holds an MIT PhD and has earned international scientific honors.