About to take over the management of Minas Gerais, () states that the scenario of (Novo) joining the (PL) ticket for the Presidency could contribute to his campaign for re-election in the state.
Simões says that the eventual alliance — which has been publicly denied by the governor — would “end the discussion” of the unification of right-wing parties in Minas, but recognizes that the articulation goes beyond the state border.
“I’m ready for a more competitive election [em Minas] if there is no national agreement”, says Simões in an interview with Sheet.
He takes over the Government of Minas this Sunday (22) and should repeat Zema’s strategy of prioritizing the interior of the state. The deputy governor states that he will provide transparency to special taxation regimes, benefits generally linked to the reduction of ICMS that the government grants to specific sectors with the justification of attracting companies to the state.
Despite belonging to Gilberto Kassab’s PSD, Simões says he is committed to Zema’s national plans, and not to the names considered by his party (Ratinho Junior, and ).
In the state dispute, former Senate president Rodrigo Pacheco may leave the PSD to launch a candidacy for another party with the support of (PT). of the PL on Simões. In addition to the possibility of supporting senator Cleitinho (Republicans), the party is also considering launching Flávio Roscoe, president of Fiemg (Federation of Industries of MG).
As is usually the case with vice-presidents who take office, Mr. has the challenge of reversing the lack of knowledge among voters. What will be the Simões management strategy?
It’s curious because a recent survey shows that 72% of voters don’t know who the candidates for governor will be. This gives me peace of mind. Maybe I’m the best positioned, I don’t need to worry about the election now, because taking over the state government ends up being the natural path to this recognition.
I made a decision, which is management, but with a positive impact on people’s perception of Mateus the governor. I spend the first hundred days of the government outside Belo Horizonte, traveling around the countryside. Unlike what happens in São Paulo, the majority of the population in Minas is not around the capital [que concentra 20% da população].
Mr. becomes directly responsible for sending budget laws to the Assembly. He foresees an increase in funds to combat rain and contain slopes after the ?
The privatization of Copasa [estatal de saneamento] creates a fund in which I expressly asked to build macrodrainage [estruturas para escoamento de água]. It will be something close to R$500 million.
I also intend to put a housing policy in place immediately. I want to start by assisting the security forces, because our police officers are living in a situation of risk, not only geological, but physical risk, because they often live in communities where there is the presence of organized crime, drug trafficking, and the police cannot find the money to get out of there.
Next, it is housing policy for residents on hillsides. We don’t have a large housing deficit in Minas. What we have is a deficit of adequate housing.
When he was interim governor, Mr. was asked about tax exemptions and replied that the data would be open. Now that you take office, will this data be made public?
We need to have more transparency. It is essential. I am less concerned about tax waivers and more concerned with tax regimes, because there are waivers that arise from the law and are already transparent, like IPVA. We know who benefits and what the criteria are.
My problem is with the special tax regimes [RETs]. Because then I don’t have clarity. Who are the beneficiaries? What benefit is the company receiving? Let’s change this logic.
So will the RETs data be open?
Yes. As soon as I sit in the chair we will discuss how. So I’m not going to say they’re going to be open on Monday, but they’re short-lived on my watch.
Mr. has already mentioned a policy focused on security and has tried to get closer to the PL, even with agendas with the deputy. But there is a core of party state deputies linked to public security who are against supporting his candidacy. Mr. Should you make more signs to attract them?
My connection with security has no relation to the PL. I have it on the PL security bench [na Assembleia] deputies who are loyal to us.
And there are those who are absolutely irresponsible, who are in the PL, but vote with the PT, the trade unionists who are hidden within the PL. My security logic has to do with people, not with corporate agendas.
Mr. Do you still believe in a single right-wing alliance? He has been talking to Senator Cleitinho [Azevedo, que lidera as pesquisas de intenção de voto]?
I think this depends little on what is happening in Minas and more on the national scenario. I stay close to everyone. My last meeting with Cleitinho was 15 days ago. With Nikolas, there’s not a week.
But whether we will be together or not in the election does not depend on what is happening here. I joke that the only local actors in this discussion [nacional] are Romeu Zema and Nikolas Ferreira. We, others, have to take care of Minas.
Mr. The PSD president is committed to supporting Zema in the national electoral race, despite the candidacy that the party must present for the Presidency. In . Do you believe that the PSDB’s national candidacy is likely to fail?
President Kassab has a very similar reading to that of Governor Romeu Zema about this year’s election. The right is the majority in Brazil, but people are tired of polarization.
At this moment, what a lot of people see, I think Kassab and Zema too, is a scenario similar to what we had in Minas in 2018, in which there was the PT in the worn-out government and a return, in this case it is not in the [ex-]president [Jair] Bolsonaro, belongs to Flávio, who could evoke the defeat of 2022, that is, he could repeat a movement that went wrong. And then people can look and say: guys, there’s another one, right? Because I’m tired of those.
I think this is Kassab’s reading, and that’s why he doesn’t mind giving freedom to the governors and I here support Zema. The proposal for Zema and Ratinho’s candidacy is not an election based on political support, but based on popular reading. It’s obvious that I have to be with Zema for reasons of consistency.
Do you believe that the possibility of Zema as Flávio’s deputy can come to fruition?
The national union between Novo and PL would end the local discussion about the unification of the right. But I understand that this discussion is not subject to my interest. It is national. I am even ready for a more competitive election if there is no national agreement.
I trust that Governor Zema will continue as a candidate until the end and that we will all be together in the second round of the election.
X-ray
Mateus Simões, 45, is vice-governor of Minas Gerais and takes command of the state on Sunday (22). In Romeu Zema’s first term, he was Secretary General of the Government after leaving his term as councilor at the Belo Horizonte City Council, for which he was elected in 2016. Born in Gurupi (TO), he is a rural producer, lawyer and law professor.
