Ratinho Jr.’s national flight in the PSD clashes with local alliances from six states

Committed to making his name viable to run for Palácio do Planalto this year, the governor of Paraná, Ratinho Júnior (PSD), must find it difficult to have the support of leaders of his own party in at least six states. In these locations, the directories are already committed to President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who intends to run for re-election, or other candidates. Ratinho’s intention comes up against local alliances, especially in strongholds considered strategic for the party in the Southeast, Northeast and North of the country.

The first clearest indication about Ratinho’s national candidacy occurred last Wednesday. Upon leaving an event at Palácio Iguaçu, the governor stated that he would “accept the challenge” if he was chosen to “lead a new project for Brazil”. In practice, the movement marks the party’s interest in launching a name in the dispute, which gained strength after the announcement of senator Flávio Bolsonaro (PL-RJ) as a pre-candidate. The president of the party, Gilberto Kassab, is secretary in the state administration of Tarcísio de Freitas (Republicans), who is also working to become viable in the national race.

The challenges for Paraná begin in Minas Gerais, where the party will have vice-governor Matheus Simões as its candidate for Palácio Tiradentes. He left the Novo Party last year, but decided to maintain his support for governor Romeu Zema (Novo), who has placed himself in the presidential race. Zema has also been courted to become vice-president on a right-wing ticket, but has publicly discarded the idea.

In Rio, the mayor of the capital, Eduardo Paes (PSD), is expected to be on the same platform as Lula, even after the alliance has been placed in doubt due to his nods to Bolsonarism over the last few months. The rapprochement with governor Cláudio Castro (PL) and criticism from the vice-mayor, Eduardo Cavaliere, of the PT’s performance in security troubled the president’s party. This week, however, Paes was in Brasília and sought to reiterate his loyalty to the PT member, as shown in GLOBO’s “Jogo Político” newsletter.

Allied with PT in the Northeast

The PSD will also be with Lula in Bahia, where the party will remain at the base of governor Jerônimo Rodrigues (PT), after being released by the party’s national president, Gilberto Kassab, to maintain the state arrangement. The alliance will be maintained even in the midst of efforts to form a thoroughbred ticket for the Senate, composed of Senator Jaques Wagner and the Minister of the Civil House, Rui Costa. The agreement leaves out senator Ângelo Coronel (PSD), who intends to seek reappointment to the position, but tends not to provoke changes in the alliance between the two parties.

The state president of the PSD, senator Otto Alencar, said, through his advisor, that “he has always supported Lula in Bahia and that there would be no reason to break this alliance and support another candidate, even if he is a member of the party itself”.

In Piauí, another state governed by the PT for more than a decade, the platform for Lula should be formed in a ticket with space for the re-election project of governor Rafael Fonteles (PT) and for the candidacy for the Senate of federal deputy Júlio César (PSD), an ally of the minister of Social Development, Wellington Dias (PT). In Pernambuco, governor Raquel Lyra, a candidate for re-election by the PSD, is competing for the support of the PT with the mayor of Recife, João Campos (PSB).

Uncertainty in Ceará

A different composition, however, should be made in Ceará, where the acronym is supported by governor Elmano de Freitas (PT) and has the president of the local directory, former state deputy Domingos Filho, as secretary of Economic Development. In a statement, the state leadership stated that “it must remain with Elmano, but, on a national level, it will follow the guidance of President Gilberto Kassab, which means supporting Ratinho’s candidacy.