Approaching the deadline for resigning from office to contest the presidential election, the governor of Minas Gerais, Romeu Zema (Novo), expanded the security benefits available to former governors after completing their term. The change was published in the Official Gazette on the 30th and includes the increase in length of service and the extension of the benefit to family members and close people, as long as they are in the public interest.
The decree reorganizes the structure of the Governor’s Military Office, responsible for government security, which also received a new definition: in addition to physical protection, the teams become responsible for the “moral and institutional integrity” of the authorities to guarantee “the exercise of their constitutional functions, political stability, administrative continuity and public order”.
The new text also provides for an extension of the period for providing protection services to former governors, which will now be two years after the end of the term, with the possibility of extension for an equal period, upon authorization from the acting governor, respecting the limit of the end of the subsequent term. Previously, the benefit was valid for one year and could be renewed.
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The update also provides details on the composition of the teams responsible for the service: three military police officers per shift, one of whom is an officer, limited to the rank of major, and two enlisted personnel, who must work on a scale that allows legal rotation. Coordination and planning remain the responsibility of the GMG Security and Intelligence Superintendency. GLOBO tries to contact the government of Minas to clarify the impacts of the changes.
The restructuring takes place four months before the deadline for non-compliance set by the Electoral Court, which must be met by Zema to run for president. Upon resigning, the governor will leave command of the Palácio da Liberdade to his deputy, Matheus Simões, recently affiliated with the PSD and pre-candidate for state government.
Zema decided to maintain the national flight plan even after the announcement of the candidacy of senator Flávio Bolsonaro (PL-RJ) as heir at the polls to his father, former president Jair Bolsonaro (PL), who is imprisoned and ineligible. Since then, the Minas Gerais native has also been tipped to become vice-president on a ticket organized by the national president of the PSD, Gilberto Kassab, and headed by the governor of Paraná, Ratinho Júnior (PSD).
In addition to them, the governor of Goiás, Ronaldo Caiado (União), has also placed himself as a pre-candidate for president, but has faced resistance within the federation between União and PP. The political group has a preference for nominating the governor of São Paulo, Tarcísio de Freitas (Republicans), for the dispute for Planalto. He, however, has signaled that he should run for state re-election.
