02/29/2024 – 21:34
The governor of São Paulo, Tarcísio de Freitas (Republicanos-SP), said that the candidate that Jair Bolsonaro (PL) chooses to support – who is “anointed” by the former president, as he stated – will be competitive in the 2026 election. Tarcísio He is considered the main heir to Bolsonaro's political capital, who is ineligible by decision of the Superior Electoral Court (TSE) until 2030.
The governor stated, in an interview published yesterday by Bloomberg News, that the former president is an “indisputable leader”, who has a mobilization capacity that no one in Brazil currently has, “not even the President of the Republic himself”.
For Tarcísio, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has “an outdated profile”. “He doesn’t bring anything new and I attribute his election much more to the mistakes that were made in our field than to his merits or his project”, he said. The governor assesses that the PT's competitiveness in 2026 will depend on the performance of the Brazilian economy.
'Ever'
At the beginning of the month, Tarcísio was praised by Lula during an event with the president, marked by boos for the governor. Despite maintaining a friendly relationship with the Palácio do Planalto, Tarcísio says he is loyal to Bolsonaro. “I was with him, I will be with him, I will always be with him.”
Last year, the relationship between the allies was strained due to the governor's attitudes – his support for tax reform was heavily criticized by Bolsonaro. The former president stated, in November, that Tarcísio “makes his mistakes” politically.
Last Sunday, the 25th, the governor of São Paulo was Bolsonaro's most prominent ally at the event held on Avenida Paulista, which brought together thousands of supporters, as well as parliamentarians and other allies close to the former president. The event was called by Bolsonaro after he became the target of the Federal Police operation Tempus Veritatis, which is investigating suspected criminal organizations attempting a coup d'état and abolishing the democratic rule of law.
On the occasion, the governor praised Bolsonaro, his political godfather, stating that he “is no longer a CPF, he is no longer a person”, but “a movement”. Tarcísio also hosted the former president at Palácio dos Bandeirantes, the seat of government and official residence, in yet another move to remain associated with his political ally. Despite being named as the favorite among the possible “heirs” in this scenario, Tarcísio said that his “focus is on São Paulo”.
Cosud
The head of the São Paulo Executive participates this Friday, the 1st, in Porto Alegre, in the 10th edition of the South and Southeast Integration Consortium (Cosud), which brings together other right-wing governors who aspire to inherit Bolsonaro's political legacy. Yesterday, the governor of Minas, Romeu Zema (Novo-MG), once again asked for a meeting with President Lula to discuss the renegotiation of the Mariana (MG) agreement, where a dam broke in 2015, and the proposed agreement for the renegotiation of the State's debt with the Union. The governor had already requested a meeting on January 31st.
Absent
Zema was also on Avenida Paulista last Sunday, alongside Bolsonaro in the event's main sound car. However, some governors who move along the same political spectrum as the former president avoided the event.
For Antonio Lavareda, political scientist at Ipespe, the absences of the governor of Rio, Cláudio Castro (PL), and of Paraná, Ratinho Júnior (PSD), are evidence that they are trying to maintain a distance from Bolsonarism at this time.
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