Brazil’s largest state bank gets a boss

First time in history

Brazil’s largest state bank gets a boss

Brazil’s largest state-owned bank is being led by a woman for the first time in its more than 200-year history. Tarciana Medeiros was sworn in on Monday (local time) in the capital, Brasília, in the presence of Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

Her predecessor, Fausto Ribeiro, was appointed director of the Banco do Brasil during the reign of ex-President Jair Bolsonaro. In addition, the smaller state bank Caixa Econômica Federal will be headed by a woman in the future.

The left-wing politician Lula replaced the right-wing incumbent Bolsonaro as president on January 1 and is trying to break with the political legacy of his predecessor on many levels – including the integration of different ethnic groups and appointments to leadership positions in the cabinet and state apparatus with women. The indigenous leader Sônia Guajajara was the first indigenous minister to be sworn in, and a well-known activist was appointed minister for the equality of ethnic groups.