(Bloomberg) -- Brazil President-elect Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva plans to appoint Fernando Haddad, a former Sao Paulo mayor who’s been part of the government transition team, as his finance minister on Friday, according to three advisers familiar with the decision.
He is also expected to announce Jose Mucio Monteiro, a former member of his past cabinet, as defense minister, said the advisers, who requested anonymity because the discussion isn’t public. Former Maranhao Governor Flavio Dino is likely to be appointed as justice minister.
Lula’s spokesman declined to comment on the names. The president-elect had previously said he would start to unveil cabinet members after his certification by the electoral court on Dec. 12, but changed his mind to put a lid on speculation.
“There’s a lot of speculation about who will be minister,” Workers’ Party president Gleisi Hoffman told reporters on Brasilia. “He will announce the names he’s certain about.”
The Brazilian currency trimmed gains after the report, as traders worry about Brazil’s fiscal credibility under Haddad. The real gained 0.1% at 2:55 p.m. in Sao Paulo.
Haddad met Thursday with outgoing Economy Minister Paulo Guedes in Brasilia to set up a work agenda for the next few weeks. The meeting, which wasn’t on Guedes’s public schedule, lasted about one hour and took place at the economy ministry.
“We want the government transition to be as smooth as possible,” Haddad told reporters after the encounter, adding that he was representing Lula’s economic transition team, which includes a mix of liberal and left-leaning economists. “It was a cordial and transparent conversation.”
Haddad said he will reach out to members of the Treasury and the Internal Revenue System starting next week “to understand the situation we’ll find on Dec. 31.”
Read More: Lula Leaning Toward Ex-Mayor Haddad to Helm Brazil Economy
Under the leftist leader, the economy ministry will again be split in three cabinet positions: finance, planning, and industry and trade.
--With assistance from Bruna Lessa.
(Updates with comments from Workers’ Party president, market reaction starting in third paragraph.)
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