The debate launches the name of the federal deputy (MG) for the Presidency of the Republic after the senator’s (-RJ) candidacy was undermined by the revelation of conversations with the former banker, of , in which .
Aécio discussed the matter this Tuesday (19) with the presidents of , , and Cidadania, Alex Manente, in addition to the PSDB leadership. The idea, according to people who participated in the meeting, is to launch the name to see if it gains traction in the polls and consolidates itself as an alternative by the conventions in July.
Former president of Cidadania, Roberto Freire will ask for a meeting of the PSDB-Cidadania federation to be called next week to defend the launch of Aécio’s pre-candidacy.
“We cannot omit ourselves in this situation that is here”, said Freire to Sheet. “I’ve been talking about this for some time. We can’t let lulopetismo continue to govern our country, nor go back to the complete mediocrity that is Bolsonarism.”
After the publication of the report, Freire made public the request for a meeting between PSDB and Cidadania to launch the toucan’s candidacy. “We will not accept that the future is definitively hijacked by fear, hatred or delay. It is time to overcome sterile divisions, rebuild bridges between Brazilians and return the country to a contemporary, human and democratic horizon”, he wrote on social media.
Aécio tried an internal alternative, by suggesting the name of (PSDB) to run for President. Ciro, however, preferred to run for the Government of Ceará, where he leads the polls.
The other alternative would be the governor of Rio Grande do Sul, who ended up staying in the government of Rio Grande do Sul after being passed over by the new party, which prevents him from contesting the election.
Federal deputy Paulinho da Força confirmed that Aécio’s candidacy was discussed at a meeting this Tuesday in light of the changes in the scenario and said he was enthusiastic about the project. Allies claim that he could even be a vice-president.
“We talked a little about it, he [Aécio] You’re in the mood. There is a very big movement in his party. I appealed to him to launch his candidacy. I think that, with , there will be people left who don’t want to vote for the PT and who have no alternative”, he said.
The strategy discussed at the meeting is for Aécio to differentiate himself from the other center-right and right-wing candidates by criticizing both Lula and Flávio Bolsonaro, to try to gain support from centrist voters.
When contacted, Aécio declined to comment. Until then, the party was considering his candidacy for the Senate for Minas Gerais or re-election as federal deputy.
The conversation was not preceded by his own research, but Aécio’s allies aim to increase the visibility of his record as governor of Minas Gerais twice and .
The 2014 dispute was Aécio’s last major election, when he finished the second round with 48.36% of the votes, against 51.64% for Dilma Rousseff (PT), who was re-elected. He, however, was targeted by allegations in , along with the main leaders of his party, who .
Members of the PSDB claim that the pre-candidacy could also be an opportunity for Aécio to “publicly clear his name” after being denounced during the Lava Jato era. Even if he doesn’t win, it would be an opportunity to publicize more widely that he was cleared of the charges by the courts.
For the tucanos, his case would be contrasted with allegations involving the government and now with Flávio Bolsonaro, who admitted having received R$61 million from Vorcaro for a film about the former president (PL). The senator defends himself by saying that it was a private investment, without involving public money or irregular counterparts.
The complaint that had the most impact at the time against Aécio was the recording of a conversation, in 2017, with , owner of the group, owner of the brand, in which the toucan asked for R$ 2 million to pay for his defense in Lava Jato.
The amount was handed over to a cousin of the toucan, in an action filmed by . The 30-minute recording was delivered to the (Attorney General’s Office) and was part of the In conversation, the toucan and the businessman agreed to hand over the money.
The accusation was rejected by judge Ali Mazloum, of the 7th Criminal Court of São Paulo, who considered that there was no evidence that could link the loan request to the acts. , in 2022, he stated that a history of bribery between Aécio and Joesley had not been proven.
According to the judge, there were only “lawful businesses, such as an election campaign donation worth R$110 million, the purchase of an apartment worth R$18 million and a loan request of R$5 million.”
At the time, Aécio stated in a statement that “the farce was unmasked” and that “the fraud mounted by members of the PGR and by whistleblowers was demonstrated, which called into question the democratic rule of law in the country.”
