The state president of the PSDB, Paulo Serra, former mayor of Santo André, released a statement this Sunday (21) officializing his withdrawal from running for governor of São Paulo. Serra will seek a seat in the Chamber of Deputies.
According to Sheet informed last week, Serra j that he should give up on the state plan.
Between March and April, when the PSDB’s national directory was considering launching former minister Ciro Gomes for the Presidency, members of the party’s leadership considered that maintaining Serra’s candidacy would have strategic importance because it would guarantee Ciro a platform in the most populous state in the country.
With Ciro’s decision to try for the government of Ceará, Serra’s eventual candidacy lost strength.
In an interview with Diário do Grande ABC, Serra said he had received from the party’s national president, Aécio Neves, the suggestion to postpone his candidacy for government to help expand the PSDB’s federal bench, which competes in a federation with Cidadania.
Allies of governor Tarcísio de Freitas (Republicans) also sought dialogue with Serra and members of the PSDB to avoid the candidacy. Tarcísio is working to defeat Fernando Haddad (PT) in the first round and his allies are trying to reduce the number of opponents in the center-right.
If the negotiations prosper, the party’s formal support for Tarcísio should be announced at the PSDB state convention and, among the tucanos, there is an expectation of participating in the government with some state secretariat. The state president of the party is not related to José Serra.
In the state vote, released in March, Serra obtained 5% of voting intentions, tied with federal deputy Kim Kataguiri (Missão-SP).
Kataguiri also announced, on Saturday, his departure from the electoral race for the governor of São Paulo. He will seek re-election to the Chamber. Mission will still evaluate whether it will launch another name for the government or whether it will remain neutral. For now, they rule out supporting another candidate.
In this Sunday’s note, Paulo Serra stated that he made the decision “after a broad process of reflection, dialogue and assessment of the current political moment.”
“I do not see this decision as a retreat, but as the continuation of a project that was born in Santo André, gained state dimension and which, now, seeks to contribute to the future of Brazil”, says the text.
