Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva appointed Nelson Jobim as new Minister of Defense on Wednesday in an attempt to hold back the air traffic crisis, which culminated in a plane crash that killed 200 people in Sao Paulo last week.
Addressing the investiture ceremony Lula said it is not right to turn tragedies into death penalties, after he reluctantly fired his longtime friend and former Minister of Defense Waldir Pires.
Pires has been under pressure to resign since two deadly plane crashes in less than a year and months of chaos in the country's aviation system.
It is no secret that Brazil's air traffic system has been undergoing a crisis, and it was not up to the government to seek "the guilty", but "the truth," the president added.
Nelson Jobim, former justice minister and retired Supreme Court judge, said he will decide whether to replace officials at the airports authority Infraero by this weekend.
Jobim had been invited to the position twice since the beginning of the year. However, he declined the invitation on both occasions.
Lula stressed that Jobim would have free rein to do what it takes to fix the ailing aviation system.
"From this moment on, we are going to do what has to be done and spend what has to be spent," the president said.
In Sept. 2006, a Boeing 737-800, operated by local airline Gol, collided with a private jet and crashed in the rainforest in the country mid-west, killing 154 people.
Since then, the Brazilian airports and traffic control system has experienced constant flight delays and strikes held by air traffic operators.
The permanence of Minister Pires was challenged and questioned several times during the past year, while President Lula was severely criticized for not having reacted in time before the crisis reached its peak.
Source: Xinhua
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