Brazil's Lula gives Marina Silva, Simone Tebet key cabinet roles

Brazilian President-elect Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on Thursday announced a final batch of 16 cabinet members ahead of his Jan. 1 inauguration, including some allies outside of his leftist Workers Party (PT) as he seeks to build a broader coalition.

The latest nominations came after weeks of talks involving leftist allies and centrist parties expected to provide the president-elect support in Congress, where his leftist coalition is in the minority.

Lula had previously announced 21 of the future ministers.

Among Thursday's highlights were Marina Silva for environment minister and Senator Simone Tebet as planning and budget minister. Lula gave them key positions after they provided crucial endorsements for his narrow Oct. 30 election victory over outgoing President Jair Bolsonaro.

One of Brazil's best-known environmentalists, Silva previously held the same ministerial position for five years during Lula's first term as president, overseeing a significant drop in deforestation.

She will now have to tackle that same task again, helping Lula fulfill a campaign pledge after Amazon deforestation reached a 15-year high under Bolsonaro, who loosened environmental protections during his period in office.

Tebet backed Lula after ditching her own presidential bid when she failed to make the run-off, helping him move closer to the center by securing moderate votes in the second round.