Bolsonaristas lash out at the union between the right and Ricardo Nunes – 06/24/2023 – Politics

Although he tries to bring together an arc of support that goes from the center to Bolsonarism, the mayor of São Paulo, Ricardo Nunes (MDB), is already facing resistance in the militancy of the ideological right that was orphaned after deputy Ricardo Salles (PL-SP) gave up his application.

Chiefs of the center and allies of former president Jair Bolsonaro (PL) sew the marriage between Nunes and Bolsonarism in an attempt to unify efforts to defeat the left represented by Guilherme Boulos (PSOL).

In addition to Boulos, Tabata Amaral (PSB) and José Luiz Datena (PDT) should also compete. MBL will have previews between Kim Kataguiri (União Brasil) and Guto Zacarias (União Brasil), as revealed by Sheet.

Bolsonarist deputies, however, claim that there is no identity between the electorate they represent and Nunes. Those who followed the 2020 election in the capital have already seen this film – the parliamentarians compare the situation with that of Celso Russomanno (Republicans), who finished fourth, with 10.5%.

Without a representative in that race, the then president decided to support Russomanno despite the fact that the federal deputy did not fit in as a root Bolsonarist. The campaign was marked by internal disputes and contradictions, with the right to friendly fire and lack of commitment.

In the Legislative Assembly of São Paulo, Bolsonarist deputies critical of support for Nunes claim that the scenario is even worse than that of 2020, because Russomanno left in front and the mission of the right was not to let him fall as usual. Now, they ponder, the mayor is unknown and needs to be leveraged in the polls.

The abandonment of Salles’ candidacy made clear not only the support of the president of the PL, Valdemar Costa Neto, to Nunes, but also the support of governor Tarcísio de Freitas (Republicans) and Bolsonaro himself in the re-election of the emedebist. The marketer Duda Lima, linked to Valdemar, is who should lead the mayor’s campaign.

Other centrão leaders for the time being support the mayor – Marcos Pereira (Republicans), Ciro Nogueira (PP) and Milton Leite (União Brasil), which makes it difficult for these parties to launch alternative candidacies in the field of the right.

Bolsonarist politicians heard by the Sheet claim that the top’s adherence to Nunes does not reflect the feeling of the base. Among the reasons for rejecting the mayor, remember that he has already said he is not from the right and that he did not declare support for Bolsonaro in last year’s election.

“I see 2020 repeating itself and I imagine a campaign with a very high abstention rate, an unwillingness to choose between the least worst. It will be a vote based on rejection and not on ideas”, says Bolsonarist deputy Lucas Bove (PL), who usually criticizes Nunes in his networks.

Members of the MDB confirm that Nunes should campaign with a center position, as Bruno Covas (PSDB) did in 2020. Allies of the mayor want to avoid him being seen as conservative – despite being close to the Catholic Church.

The idea is to escape controversy and avoid the nationalization of the election, keeping the focus on the city’s problems and not on the customs agenda, so that Bolsonarism does not contaminate the campaign.

Still according to strategists linked to the mayor, the reading is that ideology should not be an important factor in the voter’s decision, but the quality of public services.

Part of Bolsonaristas are hopeful that an alternative to Nunes will emerge in the vacuum left by Salles, after all, there is just over a year left for the start of the municipal campaign. On the right, names such as Eduardo Bolsonaro (PL), Tomé Abduch (Republicans) and Marcos Pontes (PL) stand out, in addition to Salles himself, who would have to migrate to a dwarf acronym.

Defenders of a right-wing candidacy claim that the PL, the largest party in the country, and the Republicans, Tarcísio’s party, cannot be omitted from the São Paulo dispute – even if it means losing by taking a stand and defending Bolsonaro’s legacy.

“The right needs to have a candidate. We didn’t fight with Bolsonaro for four years to hand over the country’s biggest capital into the hands of the worst in politics. relation to Bolsonaro [em 2018], that the discourse cannot be extremist, that it has to aggregate. In the end, they want us to give up our convictions”, says Bove.

Valdemar da Costa Neto and Ciro Nogueira, for example, argue that a right-wing candidate has no chance with the capital’s progressive electorate, which gave victory to Lula (PT) in the city in 2022. In the opinion of the leaders, Nunes should walk downtown -right and a scattering of candidates would be harmful.

For this, allies of the former president argue that Nunes has a Bolsonarist as vice on his ticket, which would tie the marriage. In this sense, the name of Fabio Wajngarten, former head of Bolsonaro’s Communication Secretariat, came to be considered.

The bet is that the presence of a root Bolsonarist on the ticket would be enough to attract votes from the ideological right and serve as a response to criticism from radicals against the mayor — shielding him from the Russomanno effect.

Allies of Nunes also consider that, between Boulos and him, Bolsonaristas will be forced to vote for the mayor, even if his campaign is not turned to the right.

In root Bolsonarism, however, the arsenal against Nunes is extensive. The attacks range from complaints from city management to questions of ideological alignment, such as the declaration to the newspaper O Estado de S. Paulo that he would not be the candidate of the right under any circumstances.

Nunes has also criticized Bolsonaro’s performance in the pandemic and defended the vaccine passport, in addition to exalting city hall policies aimed at the LGBT+ and trans population – an agenda contrary to Bolsonarism.

Not long ago, however, Nunes represented conservatism in the Chamber of Councillors, where he was part of the religious bench. In 2015, he was the main advocate for the House to remove all mentions of sexual diversity from the text of the Municipal Education Plan.

“We think it’s not right for children to discuss sexuality, whether they want to be a boy or a girl,” he told G1 at the time.

Collaborated with Joelmir Tavares

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Bolsonaristas criticize Ricardo Nunes

Lack of support for Bolsonaro in 2022
In the second round of the election, the MDB mayor recorded a video declaring support for Tarcísio de Freitas (Republicans), but avoided endorsing Jair Bolsonaro (PL). The MDB presidential candidate, Simone Tebet, supported Lula (PT), and today the MDB is part of the PT’s base.

not be on the right
In an interview with Metrópoles, in March, Ricardo Nunes denied being from the right and said he was from the center, a position that emedebists reinforce. In the same month, to the newspaper O Estado de S. Paulo, he declared: “There is no way I will be the right-wing candidate in São Paulo”.

City management and alignment with the center
Allies of the former president criticize the lack of care and security, especially in the center, in addition to the handing over of positions, secretariats and subprefectures to central parties, such as PL, Republicans, PP and União Brasil in exchange for support.

Defense of the vaccine and criticism of Bolsonaro in the pandemic
In an interview with Rede TV! in May, the mayor disagreed with the former president’s performance in the pandemic. “Unfortunately, some positions, such as those regarding vaccines, are totally wrong. I hope that over time he will be able to reflect on this issue,” he said. On Bandeirantes radio, he declared himself to be a “great defender of the vaccine passport”. “I was the mayor who exonerated people who didn’t get a vaccine because I trust the vaccine.”

Team
Bolsonaristas turn their noses up at names from Ricardo Nunes’ secretariat that they consider to be left-wing, such as former PT candidate Marta Suplicy (MDB), secretary of International Relations, and Soninha Francine (Cidadania), secretary of Human Rights.

left agenda
The mayor praises actions that are contrary to the Bolsonarist agenda, such as the creation of reception centers for transgender people and the increase in Transcidadania service, a project for people in vulnerable situations. Conservatives also criticize a city hall course for CEU professionals to better serve the LGBT+ public.