Considered a decisive state for the presidential elections, Minas Gerais became the main challenge in setting up state platforms for the president and the senator (RJ), pre-candidate for the Presidency.
Two months before the deadline for party conventions, Lula and Flávio have still not managed to define who their candidates for governor will be in the second largest electoral college in the country and are now testing names that previously appeared as plan B.
Flávio wanted to fulfill last week’s agenda in Minas —which had been planned for more than a month—, alongside his candidate for government, but the idea ended up frustrated in the middle of .
Members of the PL state that support for Cleitinho is today the party’s main bet and admit that the newly affiliated party should only be launched if the senator decides not to run.
One of the organizers of the PL platform in Minas, federal deputy Zé Vitor (PL-MG) says that it was not possible to define the candidate for governor in time for Flávio Bolsonaro’s tour of the state, but denies there are any losses to the campaign.
“The focus now is to be in Minas, to feel Minas. This moment requires listening, presence and building something solid for the country from Minas Gerais”, he says, adding that Flávio’s ticket could be launched in the future at a good event.
Flávio visited Megaleite, a fair aimed at rural producers, was honored by the City Council of and participated in a meeting with pre-candidates from the Minas Gerais PL on Tuesday (2).
On Wednesday (3), Flávio visited the works at Betim Airport, in the metropolitan region, and went to Patos de Minas, in the interior of the state, where the National Corn Festival, Fenamilho, takes place.
Cleitinho stayed in Brasília and did not participate in the presidential candidate’s agenda. People close to the senator say that, despite his favoritism, he is inclined not to run. When asked, he says the decision will be announced by July.
Associated with two other pre-candidates for president, governor Mateus Simões () for Flávio’s campaign. Simões was vice-governor of Romeu Zema (Novo) and is from the party of another candidate for the Palácio do Planalto, Ronaldo Caiado (PSD).
Members of the PT and PL in Brasília today admit that the priority of the two parties is not to govern the state, but to build a good platform for Lula and Flávio, respectively.
In 2024, when the TSE (Superior Electoral Court) updated the numbers for municipal elections, Minas Gerais had 16 million voters, behind only São Paulo, with 33 million.
Furthermore, traditionally the presidential candidate with the most votes in Minas is also victorious nationally. The last exception occurred in 1950 — with Getúlio Vargas.
Lula would like to inaugurate more works in Minas, but has avoided trips to the state due to the lack of a consolidated alliance. There is a fear that statements or gestures by the PT member will alienate political groups that could still join his candidacy for re-election.
For months, the head of government harbored the idea of launching the former president of (PSB-MG) as a candidate for governor. Pacheco not only did not accept to run for the position, but also.
After his refusal, the senator even defended the name of the former attorney general of Minas Gerais Jarbas Soares (PSB) as a candidate for governor. The movement bothered a wing of the PT.
The President of the Republic began to consider launching the former mayor of Contagem Marília Campos (PT), a pre-candidate for the Senate.
The party directory in Minas defends its own candidacy in the state. Marília Campos, however, prefers to be a candidate for the Senate and appears in the polls with a good chance of winning. Given this scenario, some of the president’s allies believe that he may not force Marília’s candidacy for government.
For this group, it is possible that the Lulist candidate for governor will be businessman Josué Gomes da Silva. He is the son of former vice-president José Alencar, is close to Lula and joined the PSB in time to run. He had a preliminary conversation with PT president, Edinho Silva, last week.
Allies of the President of the Republic in Minas consider, however, that the business could demand Josué’s attention and hinder a possible candidacy. He owns Coteminas, a textile company that. Furthermore, there is a fear that the company’s current situation will be used in speeches by political opponents to try to disqualify it in the eyes of the electorate.
Another possibility would be an alliance with the former mayor of Belo Horizonte Alexandre Kalil (PDT), a pre-candidate for governor. The PED supporter, however, has demonstrated resistance to a ticket with Lula.
Kalil was a candidate in 2022 for the PSD and supported the PT member. So he distanced himself from the president and felt overlooked by him in the following years. He also made a series of criticisms of the PT and gained the dislike of party members in the state.
Over the weekend, the pre-candidate for governor discussed the matter with Edinho — responsible for negotiating political alliances on Lula’s behalf. Interlocutors reported to the Sheet that the conversation improved the climate of negotiations, but was inconclusive. Kalil told Edinho that, if an alliance was not possible in the first round, he would support Lula in the second round against Flávio.
The former mayor plans to position himself as a third way in the dispute for state government. The PDT leadership, however, is working to make the alliance with Lula come to fruition. The assessment is that the country is polarized and that a third way would be crushed between Lulism and Bolsonarism.
According to PT members familiar with the conversations, there are two main obstacles to the alliance. First, Lula’s initial preference for Pacheco would have deepened Kalil’s perception that he was passed over. Second, because now the time until the party conventions, when the candidacies are defined, is getting short.
In meetings with PT members, Edinho has insisted that an alliance with Kalil be considered, under the argument that the rivalry with Bolsonarism will make them get closer.
Internally, Marília Campos has defended a ticket with the pre-candidate for governor and former president of the Chamber of Belo Horizonte Gabriel Azevedo (MDB). Azevedo and Edinho talked about the possibility of an alliance last week.
