After the Liberal Party announced its support for candidate Davi Alcolumbre, from União Brasil, to replace Rodrigo Pacheco (PSD-MG) as president of the Senate, former president Jair Bolsonaro (PL) said that he is articulating an agreement to place a name in the vice-presidency of the House, and thus seek more space and advancement of right-wing agendas. The strategy is similar to that adopted by the party in the Chamber of Deputies, when support for the candidacy of Hugo Motta (Republicanos-PB) was tailored with the purpose of gaining more space and positions, including the possible indication of a PL name for the vice-presidency of the House.
In a recent interview given to Rádio Auriverde, in Bauru, Bolsonaro refuted the criticisms of some parliamentarians, such as federal deputy Nikolas Ferreira (PL-MG), that the right cannot distance itself from its origins by supporting candidates from other parties. The former president stated that, alongside the opposition leader in the Senate, Rogério Marinho (PL-RN), he has spoken with the candidate Alcolumbre, favorite to return to the presidency of the Federal Senate next year.
“We did talk, Rogério Marinho and I, we talked to Alcolumbre. Some think we can’t talk to him. Who are we going to talk to? (…) It’s almost certain that we will have the 1st vice-presidency, which is also helps to define the agenda in the president’s absence”, explained Bolsonaro.
The former president also defended the composition with other parties so that the Liberal Party can guarantee more space in Senate committees, claiming that today, as a minority, the right does not control any committee, which makes it impossible, even, to summon ministers to give explanations on certain topics.
Alliances seek to leverage agendas such as amnesty and more decision-making power in the Chamber and Senate
Another reason that led the PL of Valdemar Costa Neto and Jair Bolsonaro to get closer to Centrão parties in both the Senate and the Chamber was the party’s desire to move forward in the discussion of amnesty for those arrested on January 8th. In a recent maneuver to prevent the imminent vote on the topic in the Chamber’s Constitution and Justice Committee (CCJ), where the right had the strength to approve the proposal, President Arthur Lira (PP-AL) decided to create a special commission to deal with the issue. theme – which has not yet been installed.
Even with tight deadlines, as the parliamentary recess begins on December 22, Lira promised allies, in exchange for support for her candidate in the House, deputy Hugo Motta (Republicanos-PB), that she would put the amnesty to a vote.
Bolsonaro himself, after talking to Lira, said that he believed in the possibility and that there was no point approving the matter in the Chamber, if the process was then stopped in the Senate. And that is why Bolsonaro and the PL command are also trying to ensure that the possible future president of the Upper Chamber plans amnesty for those arrested on January 8th.
Just last week, the former president stated that he trusts that the Senate can approve an amnesty that reverses his ineligibility. “Congress is the way to do almost everything. It is the most important Power”, stated Bolsonaro.
Still regarding the PL’s alliance with Centrão in the disputes for the presidencies of the Chamber and the Senate, Bolsonaro said that in politics it is necessary to choose “the best or the least bad”, and recalled 2023, when the PL opted for its own candidacy in the Senate, with senator Rogério Marinho, and who, when he lost, ran out of space both on the Board of Directors and on the permanent committees of the House.
“Therefore [o apoio a Davi Alcolumbre]we will have the first vice-presidency of the Senate or the Constitution and Justice Commission (CCJ). These are two very important key positions. Let’s stop being zombies inside the Senate”, said the former president of the Republic.
Senator Eduardo Gomes (PL-TO), former leader of the Bolsonaro government in Congress, is today the most popular name for the vice-presidency. However, some party interlocutors have said that the objective is to ensure that Davi Alcolumbre’s eventual presidency in the Senate respects the proportionality of the benches to occupy spaces in the Upper House.
Elections take place at the beginning of the next legislative year, in February, and terms last for two years.
Conservative parliamentarians adapt strategy to guarantee space
Representative Caroline de Toni (PL-SC), who presides over the CCJ in the Chamber, shares Bolsonaro’s opinion, and told the program Between the linesfrom Gazeta do Povo, which alliances are necessary at a time when the right does not have a majority in any of the houses of the National Congress. “There is no point in deceiving yourself”, he emphasized, when commenting on the reasons why the PL does not present its own candidacy to command the Chamber and the Senate.
“Alcolumbre is not ideal, it could be another [candidato da direita]but does not have a majority of votes. For better or worse, it’s better to tie up the amnesty vote than to have nothing”, added the deputy. “While we don’t have a majority we have to do not what is ideal, but what can be done”.
De Toni also recalled that the PL obtained the presidency of the CCJ in 2024 thanks to an agreement signed with Lira, which, according to her, guaranteed the advancement of important issues for the right, such as the anti-judicial activism package, which seeks to reduce interference from the Federal Supreme Court (STF) in the Legislature, by limiting monocratic decisions and allowing the review of the Court’s understandings – proposals that have not yet been voted on in the Chamber plenary.
Alcolumbre and Motta meet from PT to PL around their candidacies
Appointed as favorites to succeed in the Senate and Chamber, Alcolumbre and Motta have gathered support from different parties for their campaigns, even though the elections are still three months away.
So far, senator Alcolumbre, who also had his candidacy endorsed by Rodrigo Pacheco (PSD-MG), has the support of PT, PL, PP, PDT, PSB and his party, União Brasil, which should earn him at least 44 votes – to be elected president, 41 votes from the 81 senators are required. Senator Marcos Pontes (PL-SP) also launched his candidacy for the presidency of the Senate, although the PL joined Alcolumbre’s campaign.
In the Chamber, deputy Hugo Motta has the support of 15 parties, from left to right, in addition to the endorsement of Arthur Lira, who was seeking a consensus candidacy to elect a successor. Motta still hopes that União Brasil, with whom he is already talking, will join the coalition, but is awaiting the official withdrawal of Elmar Nascimento (União-BA), who, alongside Antônio Brito (PSD-BA), is trying to take the dispute to a 2nd round.
Support for Alcolumbre and Motta strengthens the right in Congress, says analyst
By endorsing the candidacies of figures with greater political weight in the National Congress, Bolsonaro is trying to regain the political protagonism of conservatives, at the same time as he can create a power base more aligned with the interests of the right, such as customs and in the area of security, for example.
In the opinion of the director of the Ranking of Politicians, Juan Carlos Gonçalves, at the same time, Bolsonaro’s support for Davi Alcolumbre and Hugo Motta is related to strategic interests in the composition of the Board of Directors and the distribution of positions in the committees.
“These positions are fundamental for political influence, as they allow greater control over the legislative agenda and important decisions for Congress. Furthermore, consolidating alliances in these spaces helps to reinforce the support base and ensure a more solid presence in discussions on priority topics for Bolsonaro’s political group”, highlights Juan Carlos.
