Lula Honors 262 With Education Order, Sends Plan for 8,600 New Posts to Congress

Overview

• President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva conferred the Ordem Nacional do Mérito Educativo on 262 people across five ranks at a ceremony in Brasília.
• Grand Cross recipients included first lady Rosângela 'Janja' Lula da Silva, STF justices Alexandre de Moraes, Edson Fachin, Gilmar Mendes and Cármen Lúcia, congressional leaders Hugo Motta and Davi Alcolumbre, writer Fernando Morais, Ailton Krenak, and influencers Felipe Neto and Gil do Vigor.
• At the same event Lula signed messages to Congress proposing 8,600 additional higher‑education and technical‑administration positions and a special staffing plan for the Ministry of Education.
• The honor roll featured posthumous awards, including to quilombola leader Antônio Bispo dos Santos, former UFSC rector Luiz Carlos Cancellier and teacher Elisabeth Tenreiro.
• According to the established process, nominations are proposed by Education Minister Camilo Santana, reviewed by the order’s council and finalized by presidential decree.