07/18/2024 – 21:40
A wing of União Brasil is threatening to launch the president of the City Council, Milton Leite (União Brasil), as a candidate for mayor of São Paulo at the convention that the party will hold on Saturday morning, the 20th. One of his sons, federal deputy Alexandre Leite (União-SP), published a photo on the social network with his father’s silhouette and the inscription: “Mayor, will it be?”.
An ally of the president of the Legislature told the State who saw the draft of the minutes that will be drawn up at the convention and also a campaign banner with the words “Milton Mayor” and the number “44”, the party’s identification on the electronic ballot box. He also sent a photo of the material prepared for the occasion.
When contacted, Milton Leite, who is the party’s president in the capital of São Paulo, said he would not comment. He has a meeting scheduled with Nunes for the morning of Friday, the 19th. The move by the president of the Chamber on the eve of the meeting is seen as a way to pressure the mayor for more space in the municipal administration.
A councilor from União Brasil, however, states that the objective of the meeting, revealed by S. Paulo Newspaper and confirmed by Statewould be precisely to communicate to the head of the São Paulo Executive the candidacy of the president of the Chamber for mayor instead of trying to reach an agreement to support the MDB member.
The lack of space in the administration has been a constant complaint of União Brasil. The strategy of launching its own candidate to force an agreement and then backing out until August 5, the last day of the deadline for holding party conventions, or until the 15th, the final deadline for registering candidates, is recurrent in Brazilian politics.
Milton Leite lost prominence in the process of forming Ricardo Nunes’s ticket. He put himself forward as a candidate for vice president, but was overlooked by reserve colonel Ricardo de Mello Araújo (PL), nominated by former president Jair Bolsonaro (PL). The arrangement was made by governor Tarcísio de Freitas (Republicans), with whom the president of the municipal legislature does not have the best relationship.
Another point of discomfort would be the possibility of Nunes vetoing parts of the “mini-revision” of São Paulo’s urban zoning approved earlier this month in the Legislature. The mayor stated that he could block articles that receive a contrary opinion from municipal technicians.
In April, Milton Leite was called as a witness in the investigation into the links between the Primeiro Comando da Capital (PCC) and bus companies that operate in public transport in São Paulo and allegedly launder money for the criminal organization.
His tax secrecy was broken in 2023 at the request of the Public Prosecutor’s Office of São Paulo due to suspicions that he played a relevant role in the crimes allegedly committed by Transwolff and its directors. Leite denies any involvement in the case.
In conversation with the State On Wednesday, the 17th, the president of the Municipal Chamber stated that the result of the União Brasil convention would be the decision to delegate to the municipal Executive, a body formed only by the main party leaders, the final decision on what will be done in the election.
“The reason is technical and legal. You can only support what exists. Let’s imagine the hypothesis that I were to support Pablo Marçal, Ricardo Nunes or anyone else. Only after their candidacies have been approved at the convention can we support them,” he said two days ago.
Councilman Rinaldi Digilio (União) said, through his press office, that he “eagerly awaits the convention to see who will be the candidate for mayor of União”. He claims to have no other information.
União Brasil is also in talks with influencer Pablo Marçal (PRTB), who would hand over the vice-presidency to the party. Federal deputy Kim Kataguiri (União) also maintains his desire to be a candidate for mayor of the capital of São Paulo.
Initially considered a sure ally of Nunes, União Brasil’s position became an unknown after Milton Leite declared two weeks ago to Column of the State that the relationship with the mayor was “shitty” and that the party could leave the coalition due to dissatisfaction with the lack of space in municipal management.
“For now, we are in a relationship with Nunes, but the relationship is shit… He doesn’t answer me, which fuels dissatisfaction. We are halfway to disembarking. If he doesn’t resolve the situation and make clear the space for União Brasil in his government, we will call the leaders and move on to a place where we can implement our policy,” said Milton Leite at the time.
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