The vice-governor of Minas Gerais, Mateus Simões, who left Novo for , stated that he will support (Novo)’s candidacy for President even in a scenario in which the party puts forward a name for the national dispute.
The speech was made this Monday (27) at an event in Belo Horizonte in which Simões joined the new party. Zema and Kassab were also present, as well as leaders from Novo and PSD.
“President Kassab was very clear. In Minas Gerais, the platform belongs to Governor Romeu Zema, this is how we will walk,” said the vice-governor at a press conference.
The head of the PSD did not speak to journalists after the event. In his speech, he said that the alliance between the two parties in Minas will be led by Zema.
The governor, in turn, reaffirmed that he will continue with his pre-candidacy for Planalto until the end.
“It may be that down the line I may have the support of other parties, but that will depend a lot on the polls”, replied Zema about the possibility of PSD support for his presidential candidacy.
Despite the vice-governor’s party change between members of the , the speech at this Monday’s event was aimed at reinforcing a partnership between the two wings.
Simões’ former party now hopes to nominate the vice-president for the ticket, and the new member of the PSD guaranteed that it will have space in the majority, with a name for vice-president or for one of the two vacancies to run for.
Chosen by Zema as the pre-candidate for his succession, Simões now has in his favor the party with the most city halls in the state.
His affiliation comes after a dispute between the party’s state bench, which is part of Zema’s support base in the Legislative Assembly, and the federal deputies, closest to the senator (PSD-MG).
President of the PSD in Minas, state deputy Cássio Soares, said that Pacheco is a qualified member of the party, but that he has recently been focused on securing an appointment to the STF (Supreme Federal Court).
“We here [em Minas] We have already decided that the PSD will walk together with Mateus Simões, our next governor”, said Soares.
With Simões joining the party, Pacheco’s path is to choose a new party if he really wants to run for the Minas Gerais government next year.
Among the acronyms cited by interlocutors are MDB, União Brasil and PSB. The former president of the Senate is President Lula’s (PT) favorite to guarantee a competitive platform in the state in the 2026 election.
Pacheco’s priority is to nominate the vacancy in the STF left by the retirement of minister Luís Roberto Barroso. Lula’s entourage, however, already considers the announcement of the name of the Union’s attorney general, , for the court to be certain.
the decision was made until the president returned from his trip abroad because the PT member intends to have a conversation with Pacheco before announcing his decision.
According to people familiar with the discussion, Lula would like to make this gesture of consideration to his ally. Aides remember that the president will be able to make up to four nominations for the STF in case of re-election and that, for this project, he would count on a strong candidacy in Minas.
Simões’s choice to change parties went through the PSD structure. In addition to the number of city halls in the state, the party has much higher television time and party funds compared to Novo.
Simões that going to the PSD had become “the most logical path” given the electoral scenario in Minas Gerais.
“Changing parties becomes a more logical path, due to the risk of the PL/Republicans launching the , which forces me to rally the rest of the center around my candidacy”, said the vice-president in a message to party members.
The PSD, in 2022, will double the number of Minas Gerais cities under its command, to 142 city halls. Since then, more mayors have joined the party.
After the death of the mayor of Belo Horizonte, Fuad Noman, the most populous municipality governed by the party became Uberaba, in the Triângulo, where mayor Elisa Araújo is an ally of Simões.
The vice-governor’s expectation is that the federation made up of PP and União Brasil will be on his ticket next year, which would guarantee him the most television time among the candidates and could reverse his low awareness among the population.
In addition to Simões and Pacheco, other names mentioned in the dispute for Palácio Tiradentes are senator Cleitinho Azevedo (Republicans) and federal deputy Nikolas Ferreira (PL), who appear in the lead in most polls of voting intentions.
Only one of them, however, should lead a ticket more to the right in the Minas Gerais spectrum.
Politicians who have already run for office are also considering the candidacy, such as former governor Aécio Neves (PSDB) and former mayor of Belo Horizonte Alexandre Kalil (PDT).
At the national level, Kassab’s PSD will have another governor in March, when Zema will leave command of the Government of Minas to compete for the Presidency.
In recent months, the party agreed on the affiliation of the governors of Rio Grande do Sul, Eduardo Leite, and of Pernambuco, Raquel Lyra.
