Ricardo Nunes: ‘I want to complete my mandate, but I will be at the orders of our State’

The mayor of São Paulo, Ricardo Nunes (MDB), stated this Friday, the 24th, that he is prepared to take on new challenges at the state level, even though he “wants to complete his mandate”. Although he publicly denies it, behind the scenes the mayor is treated as a pre-candidate for the São Paulo government, if governor Tarcísio de Freitas (Republicans) decides to run for President of the Republic in 2026.

“I sincerely want to complete my term, but if any challenge comes my way, I will always be at your disposal to be able to work for our city and our State”, said Nunes upon receiving the Collar of Honor for Legislative Merit at the Legislative Assembly of São Paulo (Alesp).

During the tribute to him, the mayor praised Tarcísio as a “great friend” and reported on the closer relationship between them during the re-election campaign in 2024. He recalled that he remained in the lead in the polls at the beginning. At a certain point, however, he noticed that the influencer Pablo Marçal (PRTB) was starting to increase his voting intentions. Given this, Tarcísio warned him about the need to intensify the pace.

Also read

AtlasIntel: Lula would beat all rivals in 2026, including Bolsonaro and Tarcísio

Survey shows PT leadership in all scenarios and increased advantage over the governor of São Paulo

Lula says there will be no subject vetoed in a meeting with Trump

“It will be a free meeting in which we will be able to say what we want, how we want, and we will hear what we want and don’t want too”, stated the Brazilian president

“After the results (…), Tarcísio comes to me and says the following ‘I didn’t tell you, but during the campaign I discovered the tumor. I would need to remove it to do the biopsy, to find out if it was malignant or benign. But in the campaign we couldn’t stop, we couldn’t lose”, continued Nunes. “Tarcísio, in his position as governor, failed to do his cancer test… And God is so great that, thank God, he was hospitalized, had a biopsy and it was not malignant cancer.”

Traveling through the interior since Wednesday, 22, to fulfill a government agenda, Tarcísio did not attend the ceremony. The ceremony was attended by figures such as the president of Alesp, André do Prado (PL), and former governor Rodrigo Garcia (no party).

When speaking, Garcia stated that Nunes will still have “many challenges” ahead and that São Paulo, the State and the Country “will be grateful” for her stay in public life. According to the former governor, “whoever manages the city of São Paulo is prepared for anything”.