The governor of Pernambuco, joined the night of Monday (10) in Recife. The affiliation event was attended by party leaders, such as the national president of the subtitle ,.
Raquel Lyra leaves after nine years the PSDB, which has been under a process of weakening political force in recent years. The head of the Pernambuco executive also seeks to strengthen herself for a possible dispute in 2026 against the mayor of Recife, (PSB).
Raquel thanked the “party that welcomed me in the last nine years” and said that now “is a new moment” on the PSD. “I found in PSD the welcome necessary to help build the party and strengthen it in the Northeast. It is a new beginning.”
In a statement, Kassab announced that the governor will assume the presidency of the PSD in Pernambuco. The governor’s father, former governor João Lyra Neto, will also join the PSD, leaving the PSDB.
“It is starting a period of deliveries for the population. Raquel, if reelected governor, the next day, Pernambuco will realize that Brazil will begin to dream about the hypothesis that Rachel is president of the Republic,” said the PSD chief.
Raquel joined the PSDB in 2016, when he could not endorse the then party PSB to be a candidate for Caruaru’s mayor. After receiving a toucan shelter, he won the dispute and was reelected in 2020. In 2022, he elected a governor without coalition and after having, in the first round, the shortest advertising time among the five main candidates of the dispute, contrary to political predictions.
Since mid -2023, Raquel has received polls from the PSD for a membership aimed at the 2026 elections. The process was consolidated in February this year. The MDB was also considered as a destination, but the governor opted for the Kassab party.
In a Sheet In December, she had stated that the PSDB was “getting small” over time and that it showed “that something is wrong.”
Raquel also exposed public differences regarding PSDB’s posture to oppose the Lula administration. “The PSDB was not opposed to the Bolsonaro government and put itself about a year ago as a ‘opposition headlight’ to the president’s government without having a project that could point to what we want,” TV Bandeirantes told TV Bandeirantes in February.
The migration to the PSD leaves the governor closest to the Lula administration, but allies of the petista in Pernambuco are skeptical about an effective approach to 2026. Local petistas evaluate that the governor does not make political gestures towards the president.
The PSD is part of the Lula administration with three ministers: André de Paula (Fisheries), Alexandre Silveira (Minas and Energy) and Carlos Fávaro (agriculture). The party is also an ally of the governor of São Paulo (Republicans), political godson of former President Jair Bolsonaro. Kassab is secretary of government of Tarcisio’s management.
To try to maintain control of the PSDB, Raquel articulated the membership of Deputy Governor Priscila Krause, who left citizenship to the party. There is a fear around the governor that the command of the acronym passes to the president of the Legislative Assembly, Álvaro Porto, his political disaffection.
The governor expressed the interlocutors in recent days her dissatisfaction with former federal deputy Bruno Araújo, who will be responsible for defining the future of PSDB in Pernambuco. For Raquel’s allies, former PSDB national president would have a preference for Álvaro Porto. For now, the acronym is still chaired in the state by Fred Loyo, a businessman near Raquel.
Also according to allies, Kassab promised Raquel Lyra the ceiling of the Electoral Fund for the 2026 dispute in Pernambuco. The possible opponent of the governor is Mayor João Campos, who will become PSB national president in May.
QUAEST survey released in February shows that the Raquel Lyra government is approved by 51% of the population and disapproved by 44%. Already in voting intentions, the governor has 28%, compared to 56% of João Campos.
Thus, the government assessment is that the main challenge is the conversion of voting approval. For this, the governor bets on the delivery of shares, especially in the interior. State management also wants to advance actions in the metropolitan region of Recife, a stronghold of João Campos and where they live 42% of state voters.
In Pernambuco, since 2024 Raquel has had an influence on the PSD. With her articulation, the party grew from 14 to 20 mayors elected in Pernambuco, behind PSDB (32), PSB (31), PP (24) and Republicans (22).
The tendency is for most PSDB mayors to follow Raquel allies, regardless of party direction in the state.
