With an eye on the succession of governor Eduardo Leite (PSD) in Rio Grande do Sul, PT and PL are trying to polarize the state election with “pro” and “anti-MST” platforms in 2026. President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s party presented, at the end of last year, the pre-candidacy for the government of Edegar Pretto (PT), son of one of the founders of the Landless Rural Workers Movement (MST). Former president Jair Bolsonaro’s base put together a ticket headed by federal deputy Luciano Zucco (PL-RS), who presided over the MST’s CPI in 2023 and used the commission to attack the movement.
The movements contrast with Leite’s difficulty in presenting a successor. The governor, who should be a candidate for the Senate, plans to support vice-governor Gabriel Souza (MDB), but still sees allies from other parties, such as PDT and PSDB, putting themselves in the race.
A Quaest survey released in August last year showed that Zucco was technically tied for leadership in voting intentions with former deputy Juliana Brizola (PDT). She ran in the election for mayor of Porto Alegre with the support of Leite in 2024. A pre-candidate for the government, Juliana was approached by members of the PT to form an alliance in 2026, but the conversations stalled due to differences over who would occupy the top spot.
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Edegar, who ended up nominated by the party, appeared with 11% in the survey, around ten points behind Juliana and Zucco. On the other hand, his good performance in the 2022 government election counts in his favor, when he almost took Leite himself out of the second round against Onyx Lorenzoni (PP-RS), who ended up defeated.
Since 2023, Edegar has headed the National Supply Company (Conab) under the Lula government, in an appointment that was seen as a victory for the MST at the beginning of the administration. His father, former deputy Adão Pretto, who died in 2009, was a leader of the movement in the South, the birthplace of the MST.
Privately, members of the PT expressed concern about the nomination, due to the assessment that links to the MST generate more resistance than electoral advantages in the state. The president of Conab, however, states that he has Lula’s approval and “concrete results” to present to rural producers:
“I’m very proud of my origins, but at Conab, I always tried to show that we know how to sit at the table to talk, respecting differences and working for the good of Brazil.”
The PT also closed its ticket to the Senate, presenting as pre-candidates federal deputy Paulo Pimenta (PT-RS) and former deputy Manuela D’Ávila, recently affiliated to PSOL.
Invasions in sight
The PL has already chosen two Senate candidates for Zucco’s ticket: federal deputies Ubiratan Sanderson (PL) and Marcel Van Hattem (Novo). Candidate for the government, Zucco gained notoriety in 2023 by presiding over the MST CPI in the Chamber, installed to investigate the movement after the “red April” actions in the first year of Lula’s government.
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For Sanderson, the PL government ticket has an advantage, in a possible dispute against the PT, due to its link to the anti-MST agenda:
“There is a popular aversion to campaigns of invasion and destruction of properties produced by movements like the MST. Flags in favor of property rights and against land invasions will be on the rise.”
The current governor is trying to unite his base around his vice president’s candidacy, which registered 5% of voting intentions in August. A trusted name for Leite, Souza has the challenge of attracting the electorate that approves of the government, and that today shows preference for Juliana Brizola’s candidacy. The former deputy has 26% of the preference among those who consider the Leite administration to be positive.
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Also an ally of the governor, the former mayor of Pelotas Paula Mascarenhas (PSDB) presented herself as a pre-candidate for the government. She is still considering migrating to the PSD, following Leite’s movement.
