The ministerial appointments of President-elect Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in the fields of health and human rights were met with a mix of applause and relief from the international community.

Foreign agencies, who had to deal with deniers or ministers whose aim was to break the international agreement, did not hide their satisfaction with the elections that could mean the return of dialogue with Brazil on issues such as the fight against racism, police violence, the transformation of the health sector, the epidemic. and inequality.

As soon as Anielle Franco was announced as Minister for Racial Equality, she was congratulated by Anna Cavezzini, one of the main voices in the European Parliament. The German, who serves as a kind of focal point for Mercosur in the European Legislature, described Anielle’s appointment as “important news”.

“Anielle Franco, an activist and sister of the murdered black councilor Marielle Franco, will be part of the Lula government as Minister for Ethnic Equality. After four years of Bolsonaro, there is much to be done,” she wrote on her social networks.

At the UN, Anielle’s election was seen as “symbolic” of a change in Brazil’s attitude towards extrajudicial killings in Brazil. On the side, former minister and now senator-elect Damares Alves refused to acknowledge the significance of Marielle Franco’s murder, while the government launched a boycott in Europe against any homage to the member of parliament.

Rapporteurs at the UN even told the UOL that Lula’s government would be evaluated abroad for its ability to respond to the impunity prevailing in the country. And the Marielle Franco case was at the center of the search for a new message that such crimes would no longer be tolerated.

“We know that there will be someone to talk to today about these issues that are at the heart of the human rights situation in Brazil,” said a senior UN official in New York.

The same sense of relief was felt when Silvio Almeida took over the Human Rights portfolio. It is hoped that Almeida will recognize the challenges Brazil is facing, as well as take action to help the government tackle violence against Afro-Brazilians.

Another acclaimed election was Nísia Trindade Lima, who will head the Ministry of Health. As head of Fiocruz, she attended WHO meetings and was seen as a reliable interlocutor at the height of the pandemic.

As the world seeks a solution to covid-19 in 2020, Jair Bolsonaro’s Brazilian government has been described as “mad” by the highest WHO summit. Attacked by the Planalto Palace, the agency looked to figures like Nísia for a contact that would allow continued cooperation with Brazil.

According to WHO sources, at a time when Eduardo Pazuello and other ministers refused to listen to the advice of scientists or buy vaccines, the future minister was seen as a means of dialogue with Brazil.