The governor of Rio Grande do Sul, Eduardo Leite (PSD), stated, this Thursday (9), that he remains willing to run as a candidate for President of the Republic in the 2026 elections and has set himself an “alternative path” and “conditions of independence”.
“I think I can best contribute as a candidate for president of the Republic within the PSD because, among the options that are currently leading the pre-election political debate process, I am the only one who did not embrace either Lula or Bolsonaro in the last elections”, declared the governor.
In the same party as Leite, the governor of Paraná, Ratinho Junior, is also a pre-candidate.
National president of the party, Gilberto Kassab has said that: either support a candidacy of the governor of São Paulo, Tarcísio de Freitas (Republicans), or decide between launching Ratinho or Eduardo Leite in the presidential race.
Earlier, the national president of the PP, senator Ciro Nogueira (PI), met with former president Jair Bolsonaro (PL), who is under house arrest in Brasília.
After the meeting, the leader, who was head of Bolsonaro’s Civil House, once again defended the names of , putting the pre-candidacy of the governor of Goiás, Ronaldo Caiado (União Brasil), aside ().
Leite stated that he believes he can make a “different contribution to this electoral process”, but he understands “perfectly that the political context is what will determine whether there will be space for this”.
“People are playing this game: some more pragmatic, others less, depending more on their convictions. I put myself more in that second position,” he declared.
Both Ratinho, Tarcísio and Caiado – and the governor of Minas Gerais, Romeu Zema (Novo), also a presidential candidate – have already been, whether in 2018, 2022 or in both elections, alongside Bolsonaro, in an official alliance or with public support.
In 2018, Leite declared support for Bolsonaro in the second round against Fernando Haddad (PT), but both did not share the same physical platform during their campaigns. In 2022, unlike the others, he remained distant from the former president in both the first and second rounds.
Meeting with the production sector
Eduardo Leite’s speeches took place amidst participation in a meeting with businesspeople and investors promoted by the resource management company Lifetime, in Porto Alegre.
“Private investment is what enhances long-term growth. So, an event like this, for investors, broadens a vision and a potential increase in investment, which is very important for the region”, stated the CEO of Lifetime, Fernando Katsonis.
Addressing both the Rio Grande do Sul economy and the national scenario, Leite highlighted economic reforms that he has carried out in the state since 2019 and defended greater engagement by the federal government in service and infrastructure concessions to the private sector.
“The federal government, despite making a contrary speech on some occasions, and even, politically, there is a lot of opposition, is doing some things – but slower than it should be, in my opinion”, he declared.
