Brazilian Senator Edison Lobao said Wednesday he has been named as the country's new mines and energy minister by President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.
At a press conference held after a meeting with the president, Lobao of the Brazilian Democratic Movement Party (PMDB), said that Lula had just made the appointment, and he would take office next Monday.
The announcement followed the senator's unanimous nomination to the position by PMDB, which holds the most seats in congress.
Lobao took the opportunity to dismiss rumors that the president's Chief of Staff Dilma Rousseff did not favor his name to the ministry.
The senator also said that the country would not have the risk of an energy blackout like the one that led to a rationing in 2001.
"All thermal power plants are progressively starting to operate and it has even started to rain again," he told the press, in reference to lack of rain registered at the end of last year and the beginning of January, which could make matters worse. Once Brazil relied mainly on hydroelectric power generation.
Lobao responded to the suspicion over his technical qualification for the job by stressing that other politicians with no particular experience in mining or energy had ruled the ministry. He added that he would hire "a competent team" to take care of the electric energy sector.
The senator informed that he would hold a meeting Thursday to discuss the transference of the position with incumbent minister Nelson Hubner, who has been in charge of the ministry temporarily since former minister Silas Rondeau left last May.
Source: Xinhua
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