Marta returns to PT to be Boulos' deputy and receives affection after breakup

Applauded by the militants, the former mayor of São Paulo, Marta Suplicy returned to the PT after nine years this Friday, 2, and said that her mission is to fight to defeat Bolsonarism in the capital of São Paulo and preserve democracy. “I'm back to my comfort, to my roots”, she said at the beginning of her speech, with her voice breaking. The weight of Marta's return to the PT was represented by the presence of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) and the Minister of Finance, Fernando Haddad (PT), who in the past was harshly criticized by the former mayor. Marta left the PT in 2015, with attacks on the party, and voted in favor of Dilma Rousseff's impeachment.

The return was organized by Lula himself so that the now PT member will be vice-president on Guilherme Boulos' (PSOL) ticket in the municipal election in October, whose main opponent at the moment is mayor Ricardo Nunes (MDB-SP), who is supported by the former President Jair Bolsonaro (PL).

“I'm back to walk together and maintain our fighting spirit in defense of democracy”, said Marta, adding that plurality and respect for differences are threatened by the growth of the authoritarian right. “We are all called upon to take on the challenge of making the city of São Paulo a bastion of democratic resistance,” she continued.

Lula said he insisted on Marta's return to the PT, despite some party leaders initially resisting the movement, because he considered that she would be important on the ticket. When she left the PT in 2015, Marta said she was embarrassed by the party's “protagonism” in “one of the biggest corruption scandals the Brazilian nation has ever experienced”.

“Boulos, who is a young talent, needs someone like Marta who has the mark of good management”, said the president. He compared the former mayor with the player Roberto Rivelino, star of Corinthians and the Brazilian team, who left the Parque São Jorge team for Fluminense in 1975. “You are our Rivelino, Marta”.

According to Lula, the PT needs to think about why it no longer governed São Paulo after three progressive administrations, with Luiza Erundina, now in PSOL, Fernando Haddad (PT) and Marta herself. “The party needs to make alliances.

There is no point in launching a candidate. We need to support those who have a chance of winning the election”, he added, when defending the alliance with PSOL and Boulos at the head of the ticket.

The hallmarks of Marta Suplicy's administration (2001-2004) at the head of São Paulo, such as the Bilhete Único and the Unified Educational Centers (CEUs) were repeatedly cited as examples of the former mayor's appeal among poorer voters.

Lula also took advantage of the moment to give a message to the militants and party leaders. For the president, the PT's performance in the last municipal election in the capital is worrying. “The question I ask is the following: as a party that has 20% electoral preference, it only had 5% votes for councilors. Something is wrong,” he said.

For Boulos, Marta's arrival is a step towards the formation of what he called a democratic front against the “front of authoritarianism”, which in his view is represented by Nunes and Bolsonaro. The psolist rejected any chance of the double being marked by fights and disagreements, even with the barbs of the past, because “unity is not created between equals” but between those who are different.

“For those who thought we wouldn't fit in, we're going to form a dynamic duo to change the city of SP. It will be the alliance of CEUs with popular housing, the single ticket with solidarity kitchens, administrative experience with the courage to fight for our people”, said the PSOL pre-candidate. Boulos joked that Lula, responsible for the alliance with Marta, could even bring the support of governor Tarcísio de Freitas (Republicans) due to the affection exchanged between the two earlier during a ceremony in Santos (SP).

President of the PT, Gleisi Hoffmann said he considers that the former mayor left the PT, but that the party never let it be part of Marta's public image. Haddad, who was called the “worst mayor in the history of São Paulo” by the former mayor, left the raid in the past and also praised Marta's management, in which he had his first experience as a public manager, and stated that he was “very good” to have her in the party again.

The event was attended by ministers Alexandre Padilha (PT-SP), of Institutional Relations, Márcio Macêdo (PT-SE), of the General Secretariat of the Presidency, and Luiz Marinho (PT-SP), of Labor, in addition to of federal and state parliamentarians and councilors.

First electoral agenda will be in 'Martalândia'

After joining, Boulos and Marta plan their first pre-campaign event together in Parelheiros, the former mayor's electoral stronghold, known as Martalândia. The event will be attended and participated by the population. The date has not been set. A plenary session with social movements is also expected after carnival.

The former mayor and the psolist met for the first time in January, at lunch at Marta's apartment, in Jardim Paulista, an upscale neighborhood in the west of the capital. At that meeting, they sealed an alliance to form a ticket for this year's municipal elections. At the time, Boulos classified the meeting as “excellent” and said that the main challenge for both is to reissue a democratic front to defeat Bolsonarism in São Paulo.

After the meeting between Marta and Boulos, the PT municipal executive in São Paulo approved, with 12 votes in favor and one against, Marta's reaffiliation to the party. Although the affiliation was concluded this Friday, internal trends within the PT express opposition to the return of the former mayor. The party's national leader, Valter Pomar, has already declared his intention to submit a request to cancel membership. The chances of success of this request, however, are considered minimal.

This is because it was President Lula who convinced Marta to return to the PT, a party she left traumatically in 2015, after 31 years of membership. At the beginning of January, the president called the former mayor for a conversation at Palácio do Planalto. After the meeting, Marta agreed to return to the PT with the mission of becoming vice-president on the ticket headed by Boulos.

To do this, however, she had to leave the command of the Municipal International Relations Secretariat under the management of Mayor Ricardo Nunes (MDB), who will seek re-election and tends to be Boulos' main opponent in the race for Mayor. Marta justified the change of team by claiming that she could not be on the same side as Bolsonarism, alluding to the fact that Nunes sought the support of former president Jair Bolsonaro (PL) in the election. Bolsonaro, in fact, must nominate the emedebista vice-president.

The mayor of São Paulo refuted Marta's justification, saying that he had never hidden it from the then ally who sought Bolsonaro's support. Nunes also stated that he was “very upset” with the former mayor’s decision, adding that his wife, Regina Carnovale Nunes, mourned Marta’s departure. However, he avoided classifying Marta's move to leave his management to work with his main adversary as “treason”.