The governor of Pernambuco, (), praises the partnerships signed by her administration with the government (). However, he avoids declaring support for the re-election of the PT member in the next few months.
“The federal government is acting to help the states, we’ll deal with 2026”, he says.
Amid speculation about her departure from the PSDB, she states that this debate is not a priority. “Right now, I’m a candidate to be the best governor that Pernambuco can have.”
In an interview with Sheetthe governor said that the party needs to “reconnect with its history and values”, and did not want to answer whether the PSD would be a possible destination.
How do you evaluate the conduct of the STF?
There was something very serious in Brazil on January 8, 2023. There was a culmination of a process that didn’t start there. Anyone who attacks democracy needs to be investigated and, eventually, punished, always giving the right to contradictory and full defense so that people have the right to due legal process.
Mrs. Are you for or against an amnesty for those convicted of January 8th?
This is a decision of the National Congress. If there is a trial that observes constitutional values and due legal process and if there was a violation of democratic principles and a crime, people will be punished.
How do you evaluate Minister Alexandre de Moraes’ performance?
I am not the one who will evaluate the minister’s way of working. If there is any type of discussion, it should be done within the scope of the STF.
What are the main mistakes of the Lula government so far?
I can talk about the main successes. From the point of view of our relationship with the president, with the federal government, the federal government has open arms for Pernambuco. We have suffered a lot over the last few years because we were unable to establish this relationship. And it is from this that we are able to bring in important investments and complete projects that have been stopped.
There is concern among economic analysts about the country’s fiscal situation and there has been an increase in the dollar. Mrs. Do you think the federal government needs to adjust the way the economy is run?
Fiscal balance is essential to allow Brazil to grow. It is important, yes, that there is a review of spending, that there are important decisions, not only in capturing more revenue, but also in cutting the cost of the public sector. Interest rates are high, the dollar is high, inflation is still contained, but the economy reacts by growing. But is this economic growth sustainable? No. I hope and work on whatever is possible so that Brazil can grow.
Mrs. has challenged the PSDB’s conduct of opposing the Lula government, but the party remains in opposition in Congress. Have your positions not been echoed?
The PSDB is a party with history and delivery for the country, but it has become small over time and this reveals that something is wrong. What we need to do, what the PSDB needs to do, is reacquaint itself with its history and its values. We need to have strong parties and institutions that can face the democratic game.
What variables will you take into account when deciding which party you will run for in the 2026 election?
Only I am a spokesperson for myself, I always will be. This is important because there is a lot of speculation about possible positions. I’m grateful to the PSDB, always have been. But at this moment I am a candidate to be the best governor that Pernambuco can have. Wherever I go or stay, I will always defend the same values.
Do you think you define when?
At the right time, but it is also not the main issue for a governor.
Could it be the PSD?
I don’t think I can get past this discussion [na entrevista].
Is it possible for Mrs. support the re-election of President Lula?
What we have today is a federal government aligned with the state government from an institutional point of view. Things are happening in our state and I am grateful, because there is a political decision behind this to support Pernambuco. I say that this is not just in Pernambuco. We realize that whether it is a situation or opposition, the federal government is acting to help the States. 2026 we will deal with in 2026.
The Quaest survey in December shows that his government has an approval rating of 54% and disapproval of 42%. Are you satisfied with these numbers?
It is important to see where we have not yet arrived. We also reflect on government. We will arrive next year with our foot on the accelerator. I think that today we deliver everything that was possible to build within the situation in which we found Pernambuco in January 2023.
The same survey shows that its approval is better in the interior: 39% positive evaluation and 21% negative, a better number than in Recife, with 20% positive evaluation and 55% negative. What did the government fail in the capital?
The metropolitan region of Recife has 42% of Pernambuco’s population and has complex challenges: reducing inequality, water, mobility. We are facing these issues. There is no mistake or success. It means working to guarantee the deliveries that we committed to with the people of Pernambuco. I never made one election thinking about another.
Mrs. thinks that the express approval of the mayor in Recife does it cause difficulties for the state government?
If I had only been looking at the popularity index, we wouldn’t have gotten this far. They said that a mayor from the interior could never reach the government of Pernambuco.
At the beginning of the year, the president of the Assembly, Álvaro Porto (PSDB), criticized his speech at the opening of the legislative year. Afterwards, your relationship became pleasant. Mrs. Did you forgive the criticism?
I have always tried to do everything in a respectful relationship. I am not a ruler who seeks followers by imposing fear. Everything I do is the result of building dialogue. I want to say that everything I presented to the Legislative Assembly was approved. I will continue working this way, and any episode other than this will not be done through my words.
Last year, you were asked whether the solution for the Recife subway, which faces periodic failures, would come out in 2024. . But it didn’t come out. Who failed?
The subway is linked to the federal government. But everything that concerns the people of Pernambuco, I have always said concerns the government of Pernambuco as well.
We have advanced studies from the National Bank for Economic and Social Development to make a concession. Minister Rui Costa [Casa Civil] He was here and called me, the state government, the BNDES and the federal government so that together we could look at possible scenarios. These meetings should have taken place in the last 15 days, but the president [Lula] was operated on.
X-RAY | RAQUEL TEIXEIRA LYRA LUCENA, 46
Governor of Pernambuco, she graduated in law from UFPE (Federal University of Pernambuco). She is a prosecutor for the state of Pernambuco and was a delegate and state deputy between 2011 and 2016 for the PSB. In 2016, she joined the PSDB and was elected mayor of Caruaru, re-elected in 2020. She is the daughter of former governor João Lyra Neto (PSDB), who governed the state in 2014 for the PSB.
