José Guimarães also defined Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo and Minas Gerais as the crucial states for the PT in the 2026 election
The leader of the government in the Chamber of Deputies, (PT-CE), said that the right has been “without a compass” since the arrest of the former president (PL), that the former president “is right” in choosing the senator (PL-RJ) as his pre-candidate for the Palácio do Planalto in 2026, that the division strengthens the PT and that the family is making “contributions” to the president with the moves made so far.
In a statement this Saturday, the 6th, Guimarães also defined Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo and Minas Gerais as the crucial states for the PT in the 2026 election. “The division of the right strengthens our field. With something like this, will Tarcísio leave the government of São Paulo? I think it’s difficult. Whoever wants everything ends up with nothing”, he said. “They are out of compass with Bolsonaro’s arrest. There is no right-wing leadership that can unify them. Bolsonaro doesn’t want Tarcísio to take the lead.”
The deputy listed some of the moves that, in his opinion, favored Lula. “There (in Ceará) Michelle went and made a great contribution”, he stated. He refers to the episode in which the former first lady went to the platform of pre-candidate for the state government Eduardo Girão (Novo) and criticized Ciro Gomes (PSDB), also a pre-candidate for the position, who has an alliance with the PL. André Fernandes, president of PL in Ceará, was also the target of criticism.
This episode caused a public clash in the Bolsonaro family. Flávio, federal deputy Eduardo Bolsonaro (PL-SP) and councilor (PL-RJ), all sons of the former president, came to André Fernandes’ defense and publicly criticized his stepmother.
Flávio had to back down this week after talking to Bolsonaro in jail and apologized to Michelle after calling her “authoritarian”.
For Guimarães, the choice for Flávio was natural. “Eduardo doesn’t have the slightest chance, and Michelle is ‘go to one side and go to the other’. The most centered one from their point of view is Flavio. Bolsonaro is right. Let’s take the example: Tarcísio or Ratinho (Jr., governor of Paraná) is elected, who guarantees that they will do what Bolsonaro wants?”, he asks.
Guimarães spent the weekend in Brasília to participate in the PT National Directory meeting. He, who coordinates the Working Group, spoke about the PT’s priorities for next year.
“We have two lines, taking care of the PT and strengthening Lula’s platforms in the States. And taking care of the PT means that there is an emergency task: assembling the slates, mainly of senators and federal deputies. It is essential that we seek to change the power relationship of the National Congress, over the Senate”, he said.
The Southeast region should be the priority. “There are three states that are decisive: São Paulo, Rio and Minas,” he said. In Rio, the situation is already closed. The PT will introduce federal deputy Benedita da Silva (PT-RJ) to the Senate and will support the mayor of the capital, Eduardo Paes (PSD), for the state government.
In the other two states, the situation is uncertain. In São Paulo, the PT could launch the Minister of Finance, Fernando Haddad, for the dispute for government, or support vice-president Geraldo Alckmin (PSB) for this dispute. In Minas Gerais, with the withdrawal of senator Rodrigo Pacheco (PSD), a new seam will need to be made.
*With information from Estadão Conteúdo
