RIO DE JANEIRO, Jan. 18 (Xinhua) -- The Brazilian government announced Wednesday that Aloizio Mercadante, current Science and Technology Minister, will take over the Education Ministry, a move that is expected to usher in other cabinet changes.
Fernando Haddad, until now the Education Minister, is leaving to run for mayor of Sao Paulo, Brazil's largest city, in local elections in October.
Marco Antonio Raupp, current head of Brazil's Space Agency, will be named as the new science and technology minister.
The new ministers will officially take over their positions next Tuesday.
It will be the first cabinet reshuffle of the year. In 2011, several cabinet members resigned due to corruption allegations, including Chief of Staff Antonio Palocci, Transport Minister Alfredo Nascimento, Agriculture Minister Wagner Rossi, Tourism Minister Pedro Novais, Sports Minister Orlando Silva, and Labor Minister Carlos Lupi.
In addition, Defense Minister Nelson Jobim stepped down after criticizing other cabinet members, while the ministers of Fishery, Ideli Salvatti, and Institutional Relations, Luiz Sergio, swapped jobs.
