By Camilo Diniz
Ricardo Salles, a federal deputy for the Novo party and former environment minister in the government of Jair Bolsonaro, Brazil's president from 2019 to 2022, will become São Paulo's new Secretary of Justice and Citizenship. Governor Tarcísio de Freitas (Republicanos) confirmed the choice on Wednesday, November 11, 2026. The appointment had been expected since the previous week, and the post gives Salles a strategic role in the state government.
A political move that paved the way
Salles's arrival in the state cabinet follows a political decision he made late in the election campaign: he gave up his own candidacy for the Senate for São Paulo. The strategy was to boost the two candidates backed by the governor, André do Prado (PL) and Guilherme Derrite (PP). Both were elected to the Senate. In other words, Salles stepped back so the group could advance, and the state government is now bringing him into the administration.
What the Justice and Citizenship Secretariat does
The secretariat handles the state executive's institutional relations with the Judiciary, the Public Prosecutor's Office (Ministério Público, or MP) and the Brazilian Bar Association (Ordem dos Advogados do Brasil, OAB). It also oversees the Fundação Casa, which provides socio-educational care for adolescents, and Procon, the consumer protection agency. The job requires constant dialogue with other branches of government and institutions, at a time when the relationship between them is at the center of national debate.
Not his first time in the state government
Salles already knows the corridors of the Palácio dos Bandeirantes, the seat of São Paulo's state government. In 2013 he became private secretary to then-governor Geraldo Alckmin (PSB), who is now Brazil's vice president. Three years later he was appointed state secretary of the environment.
Changes at Economic Development
The announcement also brought another change. Businessman Jorge Lima is leaving the Secretariat of Economic Development for family reasons, and Marcos Guerson will take over. According to the government, Guerson headed Inmetro, Brazil's national metrology and quality institute, from 2020 to 2022. He holds a degree in fortification and construction engineering and a master's in transport engineering from the Military Institute of Engineering (IME), where Tarcísio also studied. He sat on the deliberative council of ABNT, Brazil's technical standards body, from 2021 to 2022, and was director of regulatory policies at the Ministry of Education's higher-education regulation and oversight office (Seres).
What comes next
Attention now turns to the date of Salles's swearing-in and to the priorities he will set at the head of Justice and Citizenship. How he manages relations with the Judiciary, the MP and the OAB will be closely watched.
VDD Analysis
Tarcísio is building a team with management experience and political alignment, and Salles showed a team spirit by giving up the Senate race to help elect Derrite and André do Prado. For voters who want a firmer government, with technical competence and less improvisation, pairing a politician with executive experience and an engineer who led Inmetro signals a focus on results. São Paulo voters will judge the government by what it delivers.
