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6 FROM THE TOP » MIGUEL JORGE, OF BARRAL M JORGE November 2018 | AutoData M iguel Jorge was certainly the Minister of Develop- ment, Industry and Foreign Tradewho knew the auto- motive industry best: he held the position from 2007 to 2011, after thirteen years at Autolatina and Volkswagen. Since then, he has been a senior partner at Barral M Jorge Consultores Associados and is also an adviser to Volkswagen Trucks and Buses. There would be, therefore, no one better to point out what may happen in the automotive sector next year before the circumstances faced by the industrywith the de- finition of the presidential election. In this exclusive interview, he pondered the circumstances of the probable incorporation of MDIC with the ministries of Treasury and Planning, the change of focus re- garding Mercosur, Rota 2030, and more. Check out the main excerpts from the conversation. By Leandro Alves, Marcos Rozen and S Stéfani Depending on the process and the design on the Treasury, the ministry’s funding is very low, it’s practically everything for the staff. If you have someone the- re who decides something related to industry and commerce and already makes the Treasury apply it, there is an unquestionable advantage because it is very difficult to discuss anything with the Internal Revenue Service today. In thewords of the probable Minister of Economy the MDIC represents “a trench of the first war, where those who have lobby gets incentive andwho does not get Refis”. What impacts does this type of point of view have on the Brazilian automotive sector? Do you believe that Rota 2030 is at risk? One of the main newgovernment’s pro- posals is to unite the MDIC to Treasury and Planning. Does it seem a good idea? There is some resistance from some sectors. At first it can’t be condemned, it will depend on how the process will be, the design. It is clear that you can’t have a single minister for the three bureaus, therewould need to be some kind of su- pervisoryminister and deputyministers, or executive secretaries, for each area. There will be no structural change in terms of staff, because they can’t be dis- missed, there will be no relevant savings at this point, everyone is stable: theywill only leave by choice, retirement or dea- th. What can be positive is that the MDIC essentially studies policies that depend