01/26/2024 – 21:12
Former Minister of Education Abraham Weintraub (PMB) launched this Friday, the 26th, his pre-candidacy for Mayor of São Paulo. The announcement was made in a post on X (formerly Twitter). Weintraub has been at odds with Jair Bolsonaro (PL) since 2022, when the former president refused to support him in the dispute for the São Paulo government, and became critical of the Bolsonaro clan.
Despite being affiliated with the Brazilian Women's Party, Weintraub stated that his strategy will be to consider the possibility of an independent candidacy. Brazilian legislation does not allow a candidate to contest the election without party affiliation. The Federal Constitution of 1988, article 14, paragraph 3, item V, says that party affiliation is a condition for eligibility.
Weintraub had already expressed interest in the dispute since November of last year. “If the party gives me the number, I will go,” he said at the time. Now, however, he no longer wants the party route. The separate candidacy is unprecedented in the recent history of Brazilian elections. The Federal Constitution is clear on the issue and the prohibition has been expressed in the Electoral Code since 1945. When questioned, the former minister did not clarify the procedural document that will be used to judge the issue.
He says he has aligned the issue with PMB leaders and that, in court, he will be represented by the organization Farol da Liberdade. “To date, it has never been done, but I think we have the conditions to achieve it,” said Abraham Weintraub about judicialization for the independent candidacy.
During the judicialization, he will remain affiliated with the PMB. The initiative to launch himself as an independent candidate is not related to Weintraub's dissatisfaction with the current party. “I have nothing bad to say about PMB, just good words, but the path we will follow will be different”, said the former minister to Estadão.
If the legal strategy does not make a separate candidacy viable, Weintraub says “he does not see any space for a small party” like the PMB to embrace his project. And, outside of the dispute, he does not project support for any of the pre-candidates emerging for the election. “(Ricardo) Nunes reached an agreement with all parties in the city of São Paulo. There will be no space to launch anyone who is not aligned either with him or with (Guilherme) Boulos, anyone independent. I cannot depend on these large structures”, said the former Minister of Education.
In 2016, lawyer Rodrigo Mezzomo tried to run as a stand-alone candidate for Rio de Janeiro City Hall, but was blocked by the Electoral Court.
Live, Weintraub asked for financial help to finance legal actions
Through a live on YouTube held on the night of this Friday, 26th, Weintraub launched his pre-candidacy and said that he will take legal action against electoral number 37, which is currently not used by any party. Right at the beginning of the broadcast, the former minister said that he “probably won't win” the race for mayor if his independent candidacy is allowed by the Electoral Court.
Weintraub also asked for financial help to finance legal actions and also to prepare campaign materials. When talking about the idea of a separate candidacy, Weintraub said that the parties had become companies and his candidacy for Mayor would be a “cry for freedom”. “Today, the political activities of parties have become very pragmatic,” he said.
Who is Abraham Weintraub?
Abraham Weintraub was the second Minister of Education under Jair Bolsonaro. He left the department after 14 months in office, after the release of a video in which he called magistrates of the Federal Supreme Court (STF) “bums” during a ministerial meeting. Due to a truce between the former president and the STF, he was dismissed from office and then appointed to a management position at the World Bank.
In April 2022, he resigned from his position at the World Bank to run for governor of São Paulo. He was passed over by Bolsonaro, who preferred to support the candidacy of another minister from his administration, Tarcísio de Freitas. He then ran for the position of federal deputy. He received 4,057 votes and failed to be elected.
Since breaking with Bolsonarism, he has been increasingly weighing in on attacks on his former ally. In June 2023, Weintraub compared the former president's stance to that of a “pimp”, after Bolsonaro's political allies publicized a fundraising campaign to pay court fines. The former minister criticizes Jair Bolsonaro especially for his closeness with Centrão politicians.
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