The senator (PSB-MG) announced this Friday (29) that he will not run for the Government of Minas Gerais this year and that he intends to leave public life after the end of his term in January.
Pacheco also declared that he has “no prospect or expectation” of being appointed to a higher court, such as the STF (Supreme Federal Court).
“It’s always a time for us to evaluate cycles and there is the closing of the cycle in the politics that I decided to do, with the feeling of duty accomplished,” Pacheco told journalists, after an event with businesspeople in São Paulo.
The official announcement confirms with the president of the PT, Edinho Silva, in which he said he would not participate in the dispute. The senator, who was in the PSDB, was in the midst of efforts to make his candidacy for state government viable.
Pacheco was at the center of disputes involving the government (PT) and the president of , (União Brasil-AP).
The president wanted Pacheco to run for the Government of Minas, a state considered one of the most important electoral colleges in the country. Alcolumbre wanted the senator to be nominated to fill the vacancy left by Luís Roberto Barroso in the STF.
The lack of agreement resulted in the rejection, in April, of the president’s choice for the position — attorney general of the Union —, which had not happened in Brazil for 132 years.
“I ended up being an involuntary character in this story, because at some point my name was considered by my fellow senators, by my fellow senators, but on my part there was always a good understanding and good acceptance regarding the President of the Republic’s option,” said Pacheco.
Among PT members, the understanding is that Pacheco helped Alcolumbre overturn Messias’ nomination.
In the interview, Pacheco denied that he plans to join the Supreme Court. “I have no expectation or prospect of entering a higher court, including the Federal Supreme Court. If this was considered, at some point, it was well resolved. It’s a turning point,” said the senator.
Regarding Messias’ rejection, he declared: “There was a sovereign decision by the Federal Senate that needs to be respected and I hope that there will be a remediation of the relationship between the president of the Senate and President Lula, because this is very important for Brazil.”
Pacheco, 49, presided over the Senate for two terms, from 2021 to 2025, under the Jair Bolsonaro (PL) and Lula governments. Previously, he was a federal deputy, from 2015 to 2019.
“I think it’s important that this ‘progressive democratic camp’ of people who want to rebuild Minas Gerais can choose a name that is up to the task. And we have good names in Minas Gerais to fulfill this mission,” said Pacheco, citing as possibilities the former president of Fiesp (Federation of Industries of the State of São Paulo), Josué Gomes, who has the support of the PT, and the former attorney general of Justice Jarbas Soares, both from the PSB.
