The president (PT) will demand that his ministers travel more to participate in inaugurations of federal government works. The PT member assesses that opposing governors and mayors have single-handedly reaped the popularity gains from some federal management actions.
Lula must pass the message on to his assistants at a ministerial meeting scheduled for this Wednesday (3). The meeting will be at Palácio do Planalto.
Lula has been speaking to aides about this perception for some time, but the issue has become more urgent as the election approaches. The president will try to renew his mandate, and the delivery of works is one of his main bets to strengthen his candidacy for re-election.
Lula’s instructions will be for ministers to visit the states and claim credit for the deliveries from the federal government. One of the main focuses will be the program, focused on housing.
The president and those around him plan to accelerate the pace of inaugurations and construction deliveries in the coming weeks to increase Lula’s presence in the states – without prejudice to ministers holding smaller inaugurations representing the head of the federal Executive.
The deadline for these activities is nearing the end. From July 4th onwards, electoral rules prohibit candidates from inaugurating public works. The first round of the election is scheduled for October 4th.
Lula has already said publicly, for example, that the governor of , (Republicans) does not give due credit to the federal government for its works.
“Here in São Paulo, practically 60% of the houses built are from Minha Casa Minha Vida, which they call Casa Paulista. The governor has inaugurated many of these São Paulo houses, and he could have the simplicity to say: these houses are built by the federal government, under Minha Casa Minha Vida”, declared the PT member in March in a speech in São Paulo.
A source close to Lula mentioned specific dissatisfaction with the inaugurations of Minha Casa Minha Vida by the governor of Paraná, . (PSD).
Both Tarcísio and Ratinho are from political groups opposing the President of the Republic and from states in which Lula needs to leverage his popularity to guarantee re-election.
