Leader of the PP in the Chamber, deputy doctor Luizinho Teixeira (RJ) states that his party felt free to build a center-right presidential candidacy, unrelated to the Bolsonaros, when the senator (-RJ) decided without speaking to the other parties.
“Right now, the federation [com o União Brasil] feels free to make whatever movement she wants, because the PL made its movement isolated”, he said in an interview with Sheethighlighting that Flávio will have more difficulties because of the greater rejection linked to his family.
Luizinho states that the PP is currently divided between those who want to support the president (PT), those who want to launch a right-wing candidate and those who prefer independence, a portion of which would be the majority. “Our priority is to elect a deputy and senator. We will look at what is the best project for this”, he states.
In his opinion, the candidacy will be in June or July, but it will be too late to build a single national project, because the regional platforms will already be resolved.
Leader of a bloc with 275 deputies that brings together the center and center-right parties, the deputy also states that the group will be the balance in the votes and defends containment measures from the (Supreme Federal Court). “People have learned to use the Judiciary to intimidate Parliament.”
Mr. is the leader of the new bloc formed by Hugo Motta, without the PL and without the PT. What is the role of this majority bloc? It is a block of support for the president [da Câmara] which the . If these 275 votes are with the government, the government is the winner. If they are with the opposition, the opposition is the winner.
Will this bloc build Motta’s re-election? His management has been contested. The election is built day by day, but he is the natural candidate of our bloc. He suffers from being a consensus president in a polarized country. When it meets the government’s agenda, the opposition execrates it. When it responds to the opposition, the government is the one who execrates it. But it has the merit of tackling all the issues.
Will the PP support Flávio’s candidacy? The PP, together with União Brasil, participated in the construction of a center-right candidacy. From the moment Flávio Bolsonaro pulls his candidacy due to a family decision and imposes it to the right, everyone who is from the center and center-right is free. Our priority is to elect deputy and senator. We will look at what is the best project for this. And you need to present a country project.
It’s not enough to have a last name. It’s not enough. I have a personal relationship with the senator, but a presidential candidacy involves political support, calling everyone to participate, defining what the project is. At this moment, the federation feels free to make whatever movement it wants, because the PL made its movement in isolation. In the PP, many in the Northeast want to support President Lula. Many want the right-wing candidate, and many want to remain independent because each state makes its own arrangement.
Which wing has the most weight? That of independence. It’s 50%. 25% want to go with Lula and 25% with the right-wing candidacy, whatever it may be, until Flávio. The biggest trend is towards the center-right, based on the president’s profile [do PP] Ciro [Nogueira]. But, from the moment he no longer seeks to be a candidate for vice president, he leaves the party in a different configuration.
Who would be the alternative center-right candidate? The president of the PP, Ciro Nogueira, recently spoke about the governors (-SP) and Ratinho Júnior (PSD-PR). There is Ronaldo Caiado (União Brasil-GO), who is from the federation. These three names have electoral viability. Ratinho and Tarcísio have more because they are governors of larger states. We need to understand which names will emerge. And then assess whether it is worth it for the party to support the candidate or release it in the states as a way of bringing in more parliamentarians.
What is Flávio’s electoral viability? What will impact is rejection. He already comes out with a very high rejection rate, he has more difficulty winning over centrist voters than Tarcísio and Ratinho. Eduardo in the United States made the Brazilian population see his movement against the country, and rejection of the Bolsonaro family grew. But the election went from being a marathon to being a hundred-meter dash, so little things change an election. It may be that Flávio, as he is not the father, can reduce this rejection. What I think is that the way to build a candidacy was not the best.
Was approving the sentence reduction project a way for the center to make Flávio back down? It was President Hugo’s decision, because he has the feeling of ending the problems posed in 2025. I can guarantee that there was no such request from the allied parties, with the aim of removing Flávio.
But could the consequence be that he withdraws his candidacy? I don’t think so. I don’t think so. I think it’s the opposite. Flávio made a bad speech []and now he himself is a hostage to what he said, he won’t be able to give up anytime soon. If he is going to review the position, it will be in June, July. I think that today he is a real candidate, because it is the family’s feeling of wanting to keep the name active.
Does this deadline hinder the construction of another presidential candidacy? If he gives up in the future, he has compressed this time so that the presidential election is the main construction. In January, everyone goes to the state to organize the base. When we come back here [em fevereiro]the state election has already been organized, with agreements made with our candidates for governor and candidate, and this will have an impact on national coalitions. “Look, but I’ve already built it there. Now are we going to make an alliance that will be against my state alliance? How will that happen?”
Does Ratinho need to present himself more for the dispute? I have this vision. If he wants to be a candidate, he needs to participate more in politics in Brasília. Tarcísio has an advantage because he was a minister, everyone with a mandate knew him. Politics is a relationship of trust.
Won’t a right-wing candidacy without Bolsonaro end up like Geraldo Alckmin in 2018, who had your support and 4.7% of the votes? I want to clarify that I am not participating in the construction of any presidential project. My role is to lead the bench, help stabilize the country and vote on issues, which means I have a close relationship with the government and great respect for President Lula. If I were building a presidential candidacy, our bloc would be opposition, which it is not. However, we have a clear position on some topics, such as [medida provisória] of taxes, and sometimes the government doesn’t believe it.
Will public security be the agenda to defeat the Lula government in the election? The Lula government is giving this flag to the right. I’m from Rio de Janeiro, we live in constant fear. But the population will have this concern throughout Brazil. The government did not understand this. Perhaps the Ministry of Public Security is more important today than the Ministry of Defense, to deal with this issue in a different way.
Does the cut in tax benefits have support in the Chamber? It has, because it is the PP’s flag, not to increase the tax burden and that makes the government and the country very burdensome. There is no difficulty with this topic. You just need to look where you’re going to take it.
There is a clash with the STF. Mr. Do you see any containment proposal voted on by the Chamber? We have to face all the issues. If the Senate voted, which is the House that constitutionally has the most relationship with the Supreme Court, the Chamber has to vote. The PEC [Proposta de Emenda à Constituição] of monocratic decisions should be voted on. We may even be against it, but we cannot keep shelving it.
Is there a climate of tension with the STF and the government because of investigations such as those into the amendments, Refit, Banco Master? People learned to use the Judiciary to intimidate Parliament. We are being intimidated daily. When there is some supposed legal action, it ruins our image. We have, as we always have, and always will have, public and private actions that need to be investigated. The problem is how this is put. People start releasing information and it sticks as if it were the truth. “So-and-so has a connection with Sicrano.” We have a friendly relationship with many people from all sides. Information is one thing, Federal Police investigation is one thing. Now, leaking an investigation is another matter.
The government insists on . Is there support? Fintechs are the biggest liberation from banks’ high interest rates, and the movement being made is to block them, both placing them as criminal organizations and raising taxes. In relation to betting, there is a movement towards concentration in a few companies, mainly multinationals, and two thirds of the market is illegal. I don’t believe that increasing taxes will solve the problem.
X-RAY | Dr LUIZINHO TEIXEIRA, 51
Doctor, he was Secretary of Health of Rio de Janeiro. He is leader of the PP and is in his second term as federal deputy.
