Doria sends letter to Lula seeking reconciliation: “I wanted to say that I was wrong”
The former governor of São Paulo and businessman João Doriasent a letter to President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Vice President Geraldo Alckmin, in which he acknowledged having made “exaggerations and mistakes” with both, according to a newspaper report The Globe.
“I wanted to have the chance to say that I was wrong,” he wrote in the message, according to people close to the PT member interviewed by the newspaper. Doria would have asked Alckmin to personally deliver the letter, signed in his own hand, to the president.
Still according to the newspaper, the letter was read by Lula immediately, who recognized the wave. The president commented that he had already lived too long not to forgive Dora. However, becoming friends with Doria would already be a bit much, the PT member considered, according to an assistant.
In recent months, the newspaper said, Doria began a reconciliation movement with friends and adversaries, with the aim of forming a broad support network around the businesses that he has been expanding since 2022, when he was forced by the PSDB to leave the presidential race. Prevented from running, Doria resumed command of the Lide group and returned to acting as a businessman, an activity in which he built his fortune.
The former governor of São Paulo resumed his relationship with Alckmin, with whom he entered politics and from whom he had been away for years, after a long conversation at his home, said the report from The Globe. Doria would also have made peace with other former allies, such as Rodrigo Garcia, his former deputy in the São Paulo government, and Bruno Araújo, former president of the PSDB.
Business facet
Doria told the newspaper that she left politics permanently. However, the former governor does not seem to want to stay away from politicians.
The Globe remembers that Doria found success two decades ago by inventing a business that mixes hosting major events, defending the interests of the private sector and, above all, access to power.
To join Lide, a minimum annual turnover of R$200 million is required. Members seek connections with influential figures, as demonstrated by an image on the group’s website, which displays, at a Doria event, personalities such as Michel Temer, Ricardo Lewandowski and the STF ministers, Luís Roberto Barroso and Alexandre de Moraes.
After years in politics, Doria returned to the business world, but encountered resistance in the PT government, where few in the top tier wanted to associate with him due to his history of rivalry with Lula. In 2019, Doria made a joke about Lula’s arrest, for which he publicly apologized last year, but distrust in Brasília persisted.
This situation opened up space for rivals, which Doria classifies as six lesser competitors, stating that there is “room for everyone”. True to his aggressive style, he increased the number of events to 200 per year and expanded Lide’s representation, now present in 20 countries. Doria exchanged his provocative stance for that of a more reserved businessman and continues to seek connections, while navigating political challenges.
Doria does not seem to be worried about Lula’s lack of response to her letter, stating that the important thing is that she feels “light”. He considers himself a conciliatory person, without hatred, and says he does not want to return to an antagonistic situation. Doria said that her soul is calmer and she hopes that Lula’s is too.
