Evangelical Pastor Milton Ribeiro is Brazil’s New Education Minister

HAVANA TIMES – Brazil’s President Jair Bolsonaro has named Milton Ribeiro, an evangelical pastor, as the country’s new education minister, reported dpa news.

Ribeiro, 62, is a reservist, a former vice rector at a private university in Sao Paolo and a pastor at Santos Presbyterian church.

The nomination was published in an official gazette on Friday.

The Education Ministry is an important department for the country’s religious right.

On being elected, Bolsonaro promised to “cleanse schools of gender ideology” and “ideologies opposing family values.” Teaching, he said, should only focus on preparing children for their future careers.

Conservatives and evangelical groups are among Bolsonaro’s most important supporters.

Ribeiro is the country’s fourth education minister since Bolsonaro, popularly known as the Brazilian Donald Trump, was inaugurated a year and a half ago.

His predecessor, Carlos Decotelli, had to resign before taking up his post after concerns were raised about his academic career.

There has been a series of dismissals and resignations from Bolsonaro’s cabinet recently, with the departure of Justice Minister Sergio Moro, several health ministers and former education minister Abraham Weintraub.