He was an inside witness to the death throes of Brazil's military dictatorship, under the João Baptista Figueiredo administration. He was "internal minister" of Health, in the words of the official Minister himself, Waldir Arcoverde. Within this ministry, he was responsible for important changes and as a result had to rely on his Northeastern vitality to cope with the constant threats and pressures brought to bear by the so-called "information community," then ruling Brazil with an iron fist. Mozart Abreu Lima was one of the country's key public health strategists in the period leading from dictatorship to Brazil's slow and gradual return to the rule of law. When he took office as secretary general of the Health Ministry, he brought with him the sharp intelligence already demonstrated during development of a master plan for the Central de Medicamentos (Ceme), a centralized drug administration with broad powers. He also came equipped with a culture of decentralized, participative management, acquired at Sudene (Superintendência para o Desenvolvimento do Nordeste), the federal agency responsible for development of the Brazilian Northeast. Although he considers himself a man of the left, he has no qualms about applauding the industrial policy inaugurated by Brazil's military governments, especially dating from the Geisel administration. A contumacious nationalist, Mozart Abreu Lima made history at Fiocruz as one of the mentors behind creation of the National Quality Control Institute (Instituto Nacional de Controle de Qualidade/INCQ). His was the main hand behind the extraordinary logistics involved in introducing National Vaccination Days, now a worldwide model in immunization approaches. In this interview given to Carlos Fidélis Pontes, a researcher at Casa de Oswaldo Cruz Mozart goes behind the scenes of his experience in power, reveals corruption schemes in the area of health surveillance, shares concepts on public management, and criticizes the Brazil of disposable institutions, of an impoverished, dismantled State, transformed into a fast-food market.
immunization; vaccine; polio; Ceme; Public Health; Public Health as a mission
