PDT pressures Eduardo Paes for a place as vice-president on the re-election ticket for Rio mayor

The dispute for the position of vice-president on the ticket of the mayor of Rio de Janeiro, Eduardo Paes (PSD), who will seek re-election in this year's municipal elections, is fierce. The Workers' Party (PT) claims the position after the closer relationship between President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and the current head of the Rio Executive. The decision on who will be the running mate, however, was not made by Paes. Under the uncertainty of the current mayor, grassroots parties in the city hall are pressing in an attempt to reach a likely alliance with the PT.

This is the case with PDT. The Paes base party, supported by the current mayor in the dispute for the state government in last year's elections, put forward the name of state deputy Martha Rocha (PDT), former Civil Police delegate and candidate for Rio Mayor in the past elections , as a possible candidate, if Paes does not give up the vice position on the ticket to the acronym.

The licensed national president of the PDT, minister Carlos Lupi (Social Security and Labor), stated that he suggested Martha's name to Paes due to the deputy's history and her appeal to Rio voters. According to the minister, if the alliance is not consummated, the former delegate is the party's name for the majority dispute.

“Eduardo has his reasons for not deciding yet on the range of alliances he has. I already told him and I repeat: I think Martha is the best name for what she adds as a delegate and as a woman. She polled well in the last election. He doesn't say anything, but he states that he cannot decide this alone, that he needs the participation of the support base… It's natural. Her name is on the table,” he told Estadão.

The mayor has not yet commented on the dispute for the vice position. Martha was contacted by the report, but did not respond.

To pave his path towards re-election, when he will have to face a candidate from the Bolsonarist right, Paes has been betting, since the 2022 presidential campaign, on the return of the alliance with Lula, who in the past has already guaranteed resources for the works of the 2016 Olympics, to strengthen Rio’s progressive base.

Paes' relationship with the current president strengthened again in the last elections. The mayor embarked on the PT campaign and intensified criticism of then-president Jair Bolsonaro, who was trying to be re-elected by the PL.

The relationship began to pave the way for an agreement for a PT name to occupy the position of Paes' deputy. The Minister of Racial Equality, Anielle Franco, is listed. She will join the PT soon and has the support of First Lady Rosângela da Silva, Janja, behind the scenes.

The partnership for this year's municipal elections, however, has not yet been finalized. Members of the PT directory in Rio see the alliance as natural and as an “act of loyalty” to President Lula. The mayor's surroundings are more cautious. A wing of the PSD advocates that Paes run for re-election on a pure-blood ticket, with a vice-president from his own party.

Lupi stated that the PT has great weight, as it has the federal government machine and the president as an electoral leader, but said that it is necessary to “put everything on a board” and evaluate the best name for the city.

“The PT has some predicates. The federal government and President Lula are forces that need to be considered. All of this needs to go on the board to see what makes Paes' victory easier”, said Lupi.