Deputy Pedro Lucas Fernandes (União Brasil-MA) warned allies that he decided to refuse the government’s invitation (PT) to take over the Ministry of Communications. The refusal should be informed to the government after meeting of the bench, scheduled for the afternoon of Tuesday (22).
The position has been vacant for two weeks, when he was fired after being denounced by (Attorney General’s Office). He resumed his mandate as a deputy in the House and the executive secretary of the Ministry, Sônia Faustino Mendes, has since responds interim for the portfolio.
Pedro Lucas by Minister Gleisi Hoffmann of SRI (Secretariat of Institutional Relations), as the new minister after a meeting with President Lula. But confirmation by the parliamentarian did not occur.
He issued a note the next day to say that from the party in the House before accepting.
He talked to his telephone colleagues over the past week to evaluate the scenery and, according to two interlocutors, decided to continue as a party leader in the House. One of the allies told the Sheet that the deputy will communicate the decision to the bench on Tuesday.
Pedro Lucas did not respond to the calls and messages of Sheet This Monday (21).
The parliamentarian is from the ruling wing of União Brasil and was president of the Metropolitan Executive Agency during the administration in the government of Maranhão. He was enthusiastic about the possibility of becoming minister, but the retreat must occur so that the party’s president, Antonio Rueda, does not give up the bench leadership in the House.
The process of choosing his name was difficult and took three months of negotiations, in a clash between politicians more linked to the Senate President, David Alcolumbre (União Brasil-AP), and a subtitle wing that advocates removal from the Lula administration. Rueda’s group prevailed after several postponements of the internal election until consensus was formed, with the withdrawal of the opponents.
With the departure of the current leader, it would take a new internal voting process, and parliamentarians already worked a new crack in the party.
Alcolumbre, who had been responsible for the nomination of Juscelino for the ministry, was pressuring that the former minister became leader of the bench when returning to the House. The other deputies, however, were against external interference and expressed that they did not accept the imposition.
Another party group was also against the leader’s entry into the government, with the argument that this would bind even more Rueda to Lula management, against the willingness of a significant part of the acronym. A subtitle wing advocates greater distance from the executive, already eyeing the 2026 election. Earlier this month, Goiás Governor Ronaldo Caiado (União Brasil) launched his pre-candidacy for the presidency.
With the probable refusal, signaled by Pedro Lucas to his allies, it is still unclear what will happen with the position. The decision may fit the bench, in what would gain the name of Deputy Moses Rodrigues (União Brasil-CE).
Another possibility, which was even considered in the government, is the displacement of Celso Sabino (União Brasil) of tourism to communications to expand the space of the PSD in the government. Even to avoid this, União Brasil had accelerated the choice of Juscelino Filho’s substitute.
A third alternative, according to parliamentarians, is that David Alcolumbre chooses a new name, as the indication of the previous one was his.
