The candidacy of Senator Astronauta (-SP) for the presidency bothered not only the former president (PL), but also the favorite for the position, (-AP), who is seeking the biggest vote in history.
The former president earlier this week said the candidacy was “regrettable.” Bolsonaro added that the former minister was thinking only of himself and said he was responsible for his actions.
HAS Sheet Pontes says he was inspired by Bolsonaro when he decided to run and believes that the former president could be upset because he was in the United States when he spoke about the situation on Monday (20).
“Do you know who inspired me a lot in this? Bolsonaro. He was a candidate for president four times. Until recently, I had a photo in my office of him speaking to himself in the plenary. It’s like: I believe in something even if no one else does”, states.
“You also have to consider that it was there at Trump’s inauguration. And he must have been upset, of course, I would be upset too. It’s like when you eat something that tastes bad, like that, right? No problem, don’t worry, we keep fighting.”
In the 28 years he was a federal deputy, Bolsonaro ran for president of the Chamber four times. It came in last place in all of them, the last one in 2017.
Pontes claims that Bolsonaro is his friend and that there is room for disagreement in every friendship. The senator also says that he doesn’t like to hold grudges and that he intends to talk to the former president later: “We’ll have a beer and talk about it.”
Despite not representing a threat in terms of votes, the São Paulo senator’s candidacy causes discomfort in the surroundings of Alcolumbre due to political signs.
A senator says that Alcolumbre insists that the Senate needs to be cohesive to regain space with the Chamber of Deputies and the STF (Supreme Federal Court).
In this sense, according to him, Pontes’ candidacy could send the message that Alcolumbre is not unanimous nor has the legitimacy to speak on behalf of his 80 colleagues. The candidacy itself, he continues, already indicates that Alcolumbre has internal opponents.
Voting will be on the 1st. A person close to Alcolumbre says that the senator thinks that Pontes’ candidacy does not hinder his plan to achieve a historic vote, even though the vote is secret. According to her, the feeling of people from Amapá is one of indifference.
The insistence on the candidacy has embarrassed the PL bench. A senator who prefers not to be identified says that it would be better for the party even if Pontes voted for senator Eduardo Girão (Novo-CE) — who announced he was running against Alcolumbre — instead of being a candidate.
Despite the discomfort, both PL senators and Alcolumbre’s allies say that the separate candidacy does not compromise the party’s space in the presidency of the committees and on the Board of Directors.
The PL already went, with the name of Eduardo Gomes (TO), and the Infrastructure Commission, with Marcos Rogério (RO). The party is also fighting to place (RJ) on the Public Security Commission.
Retaliated by the current president of the Senate, (-MG), for taking office in 2023, he spent the last two years with .
Pontes says that his candidacy is independent, and claims to have spoken personally with Alcolumbre and the president of the PL, Valdemar Costa Neto, to prevent the PL bench from being harmed. According to him, the party is “shielded”.
“When I said I was the candidate, he [Valdemar] He said: ‘Ah, no problem, come on, there’s no problem, it’s the senator’s prerogative to do that. But you will be disappointed.’ I said it like this: but it’s better for me to be disappointed in others than for him to be disappointed in me”, he says.
Pontes says that he is a friend of Alcolumbre and that he will pursue his candidacy to the end for right-wing agendas that he believes in, such as the amnesty for those convicted of January 8th and the .
Despite Alcolumbre’s favoritism, Pontes believes that there are between 10 and 15 senators against the Amapá senator’s candidacy. “You have to believe in things. I would have zero chance if I never applied,” he says, highlighting that he was the first South American to go to space.
