The PT pressures the PSOL to join a left-wing federation with an eye on the October elections. The union is considered strategic to increase the field’s ability to compete in Congress, where President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s government faced difficulties especially over the past year.
One of the arguments used by PT leaders is the fact that PSOL has two ministries in Esplanada, one of which, the General Secretariat of the Presidency, occupied by Guilherme Boulos since October, has an office in Palácio do Planalto.
The PT command considers the federation, which will also include Rede (today already federated with PSOL), as a fundamental step to attract other allies to Lula’s ticket in the October election. The renewal of the Brazilian Federation of Hope, which since 2022 unites PT, PCdoB and PV, has already been underway.
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— The political situation demands historic movements. We cannot think small. Reality demands the construction of a field that resolutely defends democracy and sovereignty. Without a strong federation, which is the starting point, we will not attract allies for this construction. Having PSOL and Rede in our federation would be very consistent with the demands imposed — says PT president, Edinho Silva,
According to government members, Lula, in internal conversations, has expressed concern about the future of the PT. One of the points raised by the president is the close proximity of part of the party’s bench in the Chamber to Centrão. The federation with the PSOL would be a way of pushing the PT members further to the left, although the party leadership denies that the federation has this objective.
Barrier clause
In discussions, PT leaders argue that PSOL runs the risk of not reaching the barrier clause, which will be stricter this year, if it enters the dispute only with Rede. To continue to have access to the party fund and on time during election hours, parties will need to elect at least 13 deputies distributed across a third of the federation units or reach 2.5% of the valid votes.
Privately, PSOL leaders recognize that the party is at risk of not reaching the barrier clause. Even so, there is no public defense of the federation with the PT.
The union would require the parties to work together for a period of four years at the federal, state and municipal levels. Parties would be obliged, for example, to support the same candidates for governor, senator and mayor in all states and cities in the country.
The PSOL, which emerged in 2004 as a result of dissent from the PT due to differences in the vote on the pension reform during Lula’s first term, assesses that it could lose its autonomy if it entered the federation, since the party is much smaller than the PT (there are 67 deputies against 11 in the Chamber). The party tried to co-opt the PCdoB into a union, but the communists rejected the attack and preferred to stay with the PT members.
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One of the vice-presidents of the PT, the mayor of Maricá, Washington Quaquá, admits that the leadership of the federation would be from Lula’s party and also defends the union with PSB and PDT.
— I am in favor of a broad federation. But, obviously, because the PT has more votes and more parliamentarians in Congress, it must lead its decisions. In addition to PSOL, PSB and PDT must also be called upon to organize the unity of the democratic, popular and left-wing camp.
Edinho Silva argues that unity would be important in clashes in the Legislature.
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— Today, the configuration of a strong and broad left-wing federation becomes natural, to increase our capacity to compete in a Congress that takes very conservative positions.
The PT president still demands a response from the PSOL president, Paula Coradi:
— We have already started this conversation with PSOL and we have a great relationship with the Network. We are awaiting the position of the PSOL leadership, from president Paula Coradi.
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When contacted, the PSOL leader completely ruled out the possibility of joining the PT.
— There is no ongoing debate within PSOL about the party’s entry into the Brazilian Federation of Hope. PSOL is forwarding the renewal of the federation with Rede Sustentabilidade — stated Paula Coradi.
In the 2022 election, support for Lula’s candidacy divided the PSOL. One wing of the party even tried to launch federal deputy Glauber Braga (RJ) for president, but was defeated at a convention. When contacted to talk about the possibility of federation with the PT, Glauber said that this year he will deal with issues relating to electoral tactics only internally.
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After Lula’s victory, when Sonia Guajajara was invited to take over the Ministry of Indigenous Peoples, the PSOL approved a resolution that demanded that only those who left leadership positions in the party could take up positions in the government.
