The governor of Santa Catarina, Jorginho Mello (PL), yesterday announced the mayor of Joinville, Adriano Silva (Novo), as the candidate for vice-governor on his re-election ticket this year. The announcement contradicts signals given by Jorginho last year about the availability of the vacancy for the MDB. The choice once again moves the electoral board in Santa Catarina, after the friction caused by the nomination of councilor Carlos Bolsonaro (PL-RJ) to the Senate by the state.
— Adriano Silva, my friend and mayor of the beloved city of Joinville, accepted the invitation to be my vice-president in the next election. We are pre-candidates for governor and vice-governor — said Jorginho in the announcement video, published on his social networks alongside his ally. — Santa Catarina, once again, takes the lead, uniting the right-wing forces. Everyone working together, looking forward with great enthusiasm and faith.
The choice took MDB representatives in the state by surprise, after the governor promised the position for the party and stated, in an interview with Jovem Pan radio in October, that “everything was in order”. The acronym has four positions in the government and was seen as the most popular name for the position of the state secretary of Agriculture, Carlos Chiodini, president of the party’s state directory. He had been appointed to the position in a move to bring Jorginho’s government closer to the party in February last year, which ended up bothering supporters. At the time, federal deputy Júlia Zanatta (PL-SC) was one of those who questioned whether the “criteria” used for the choice had been “voting more with the Lula government”.
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Interlocutors report that, throughout the year, while the management’s approach to the MDB continued to face resistance within the PL, Adriano Silva’s electoral performance attracted attention. In 2024, he was re-elected in the first round with 78% of the votes in Joinville, the largest city in the state. As a result, he began to receive invitations from parties to participate in the next election, including Jorginho’s, officially accepted on Thursday night. The announcement had a positive impact within the more Bolsonaro wing of the governor’s party.
— I thought it was a great coalition to win in the first round, because it unites the right and strategically prevents the creation of a new right-wing movement in Santa Catarina — said Zanatta, in a video published on Thursday night. — I was against an alliance with parties that here in Brasília support the Lula government and in Santa Catarina want to be in the government. Either you are with Lula, or you are with us.
The celebration was not repeated within the MDB. In addition to Agriculture, the party is in charge of three other portfolios (Environment, Infrastructure and Sports). After being selected for the composition of the governor’s ticket, the party is expected to meet at a hotel in Florianópolis next Monday to discuss remaining in government.
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Criticism of Carlos Bolsonaro’s nomination
The choice also resumes discussions about Jorginho’s composition for this year’s elections, which generated friction last year. Carlos Bolsonaro’s appointment to the Senate displaced federal deputy Caroline de Toni (PL-SC) from the ticket, as the second vacancy should be occupied by senator Espiridião Amin (PP-SC), who will run for re-election. Since then, the parliamentarian has articulated her transfer to Novo, where she will have space to run for the Senate.
Carlos’s move, however, was criticized by right-wing representatives in the state. Among those who criticized, Adriano Silva even said, in an interview with the program Cabeça de Político, shown on YouTube, that the candidacy of the former president’s son for SC would be an “aggression”.
— The arrival of Carlos Bolsonaro, without a doubt, I even understand as an aggression against the state. Honestly, I don’t know him personally, but I would make this criticism to anyone else who wanted to move from their electoral campaign to a state merely for the sake of the opportunity to vote – he said. — When I see Carol de Toni doing an excellent job, I see Gilson Marques doing an excellent job, Senator Esperidião Amin himself does an excellent job, so these leaders, without a doubt, deserve the seats there and not outside leaders – he assessed.
In addition to him, the nomination was criticized by the mayor of Chapecó, João Rodrigues (PSD), a pre-candidate for the state government who defines himself as representing the “real right”. In an interview with Globohe stated that “people from Santa Catarina have not accepted Carlos very well as a candidate”. This week, the mayor of Camboriú, Leonel Pavan (PSD), also classified the councilor’s appointment as “crazy” for treating the state as “a business counter”.
