Social Security Minister Carlos Lupi resigns

Brazil’s Social Security Minister Carlos Lupi agreed to leave his post after meeting with President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva at the Planalto presidential palace in Brasília on Friday (May 2).

In his place, the government announced former Federal Representative Wolney Queiroz—the ministry’s current executive secretary—to replace Lupi, who wrote about his departure on social media.

“I make this decision with the conviction that my name has not been mentioned at any time in the ongoing investigations into possible irregularities at the [national social security agency] INSS. I would like to emphasize that all the investigations have been ed from the outset by all areas of the Social Security system, by me and by the control bodies of the Lula government. I hope the investigations follow their natural course, identify those responsible, and rigorously punish those who used their positions to harm Brazilian workers,” the post reads.

The change in command of the Ministry of Social Security comes a week after the Federal Police and the Office of the Comptroller-General launched a t operation on an alleged scheme of unauthorized deductions of monthly benefits from Brazil’s national social security agency, the INSS. 

The probe shows that irregularities began in 2019, during ex-President Jair Bolsonaro’s istration, and have continued in recent years.

The police said they had found evidence of wrongdoing in part of the BRL 6.3 billion that the collection of monthly hip fees from associated organizations generated from 2019 to 2024.

Shortly after the crackdown was launched, the agency suspended all deductions found in agreements with the associated organizations.

In order to recover the money retroactive to previous years, the Federal Attorney General’s Office set up a group to seek compensation for the losses.