The governor of Pará, Helder Barbalho (MDB), has lost strength as one of the MDB quoted to a possible deputy vacancy of President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva to 2026. Seen as a trump card for electoral claim, the organization of COP30, scheduled for November, became obstacle to the logistics problems faced, mainly linked to accommodation.
A member of an influential family and government, Paraense form, together with the ministers of transport, Renan Filho, and planning, Simone Tebet, the triad of emedebists seen as possible names for the plate if the current occupant of the position, Geraldo Alckmin (PSB), does not compose it. Aliados, Helder denies having pretensions of being vice and claims that his plan is to compete for the Senate. Sought, he did not speak up.
Alckmin today is still seen as a strong candidate for the vacancy, but the possibility of support from MDB to Lula with the appointment of a deputy was discussed at a meeting of the president with party leaders last week. Were at the meeting Renan Filho; the Minister of Cities, Jader Filho; MDB leader in the Senate, Eduardo Braga (AM); and the leader of the acronym in the House, Isnaldo Bulhões (AL).
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According to two of the participants, Lula even considered the possibility of Alckmin to dispute the government of São Paulo and said that the ideal deputy would be someone with the profile of José Alencar, who was by his side in the first two terms, between 2003 and 2010.
In the MDB, party leaders have said, in home that, since most party directories in the South, Southeast and Midwest oppose a new alliance with Lula, the president would only guarantee party support if the vice place was with an emedebista. The PSB, however, has claimed that the former governor of São Paulo remain in position.
The vacancy is particularly coveted because her occupant would be seen as a natural successor to Lula if the plate comes out victorious in 2026.
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Strong influence
Until recently, Helder was seen as the strongest name of the MDB for a possible vice, to a large extent for the influence of the party. The Barbalho family runs the state directory of the acronym in Pará, which is today what has the largest number of delegates able to vote for the party convention, ahead of São Paulo, the second. The party’s statute takes into account, mainly, the number of elected deputies – of the 43 deputies of the MDB bench in the House, nine are from Pará.
COP30 was regarded as an electoral showcase for Helder Barbalho, but today is seen more like a window, mainly because, less than a hundred days for the realization, there are infrastructure bottlenecks in the capital of Pará, especially in the hotel chain. In addition, in March Minister Flávio Dino of the Federal Supreme Court (STF) determined the opening of an inquiry to investigate Federal Deputy Antonio Doido (MDP-PA), who is ally of the Barbalho family and suspected of deflecting money from public contracts from the Government of Pará. The parliamentarian denies.
One of the contracts under investigation is the bidding of works on the Bengui Canal in Belém, which would cost R $ 142 million. The Government of Pará listed the work as one of the planned projects of COP30. The state management says that the bidding investigated was “ended even before being executed” and “there was no payments” to companies suspected in this event
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In a House hearing, the president of COP30, André Corrêa do Lago, said that, in past editions, the hosting values doubled or tripled on the dates of the event. In Pará, this increase reaches up to 15 times.
Helder Barbalho’s allies say that the governor has no plans today to be Lula’s deputy and that his intention is to compete for one of the Senate vacancies in Pará, in place of today Senator Jader Barbalho, his father. Helder’s priorities, according to interlocutors, are to deliver a successful COP and elect as governor to his deputy, Hana Ghassan (MDB). An ally near the governor says that any possibility of exercising the deputy would only exist if Hana’s favoritism is clear in the state dispute.
Another quoted for Lula’s plate to reelection, Renan Filho has told co -religionists who will leave the position of minister in April to be available to the party. Today, his name is quoted to run for the government of Alagoas, but allies say that if Renan goes to Lula’s deputy post, the MDB leader in the House, Isnaldo Bulhões, could compete for the state government.
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A possible opposition from the Pará MDB by the name of Renan Filho, for example, is seen in the party as a hindrance to Alagoas.
Signs for the voter
Tebet’s name is also quoted by emedebists as a possibility, although the minister tells allies that he is not seen as a favorite. Last week, when speaking alongside Lula and other ministers (including Renan Filho) at an inauguration ceremony of works to a bridge between Brazil and Bolivia, in Rondônia, Tebet publicly signaled an application in 2026.
– They tried to blow and invade the National Congress from the outside in. This week they tried to blow democracy from the inside out. I, who didn’t even know whether or not to be a candidate for anything, get out of here energized because I know that today democracy still demands from us eternal vigilance, ”Tebet said.
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The minister’s interlocutors claim that his name would significantly strengthen himself for the position of vice case Michelle Bolsonaro was the presidential candidate for the presidency, because he would signal a nod of Lula to the female electorate.
MDB leader in the Senate, Eduardo Braga (AM) states that the party bench in the Senate, which has 12 parliamentarians, tends to support Lula, but that the party’s alignment with the president “is not automatic and needs to be built.”
– At the meeting we had with President Lula, we did not claim, nor did he offer the position of vice. The position in general does not have so much political weight, but a vice presidency in second term is something else. We understand that the MDB has paintings, size and tradition and could compose the plate, but you can’t dig it today, you need to know if President Lula’s willingness – says Braga.
Leader of the MDB bench in the House, Isnaldo Bulhões states that the definition of a possible party name to compose Lula’s deputy post will depend on electoral polls and the “political need for composition of the plate”. Near Renan Filho, he says that the most likely scenario today is that the Minister of Transport is a candidate for the government of Alagoas and he, a candidate for reelection. It admits, however, that the plan may change if Renan Filho is chosen from Lula.
