Bolsonaro and Tarcísio have 1st public crisis – 7/6/2023 – Power

Jair Bolsonaro (PL) and the governor of São Paulo, Tarcísio de Freitas (Republicans), exposed a public crisis this Thursday (6) amid the articulation of the tax reform and at a time when the former minister is quoted as heir former president, who is ineligible.

The defense of the approval of the reform put Tarcísio in the sights of Bolsonaro and part of the PL bench, who understand that this agenda belongs to Lula (PT) and, therefore, must be fought. As shown to Sheetthe disagreement was explicit in a meeting of the PL in which Tarcísio was hostile.

For the first time, the digital artillery of Bolsonarism turned sharply against Tarcísio, who lives the difficult mission of leading a non-ideological management, but without losing the support of his godfather Bolsonaro.

On social networks, the governor was called a traitor – several posts rescued a photo of him next to Lula.

Bolsonaro’s main allies, such as Fabio Wajngarten and Eduardo Bolsonaro (PL-SP), made a series of publications to criticize Tarcísio, as reported by the column Panel, from the Sheetmocking his statement, made alongside the Minister of Finance, Fernando Haddad (PT), that he was 95% in favor of the reform.

At the PL meeting, the governor even heard from Bolsonaro that he does not have enough experience. For deputies, the former president’s opinion compromises Tarcísio’s position as leader of the right for the 2026 election.

“Tarcísio does not have, with all due respect, the political experience that many of you have,” Bolsonaro told deputies alongside the governor.

To avoid launching a successor and keeping himself in the spotlight, the former president has been saying, since the TSE (Superior Electoral Court) made him ineligible, that the right has good names, but that he is more experienced.

At another point, Bolsonaro says that many people were upset with Tarcísio, including him, but that it was necessary to talk.

At the meeting, Tarcísio was interrupted and questioned by the deputies. “I’m trying to explain,” he said. “I think it’s risky for the right to give up the tax reform because… All right, people, if you don’t think the tax reform is important, don’t vote,” he added.

For Tarcísio, the right cannot “lose the narrative” of being in favor of tax reform. “Why, if not, does the reform end up being approved and who approved it?”, he questioned. “Are we going to lose the tax reform narrative?”, he continues, to which the deputies answer “yes”.

“Guys. The big question is to build a good text”, said Tarcísio. Bolsonaro, then, interrupts him: “if the PL is united, it does not approve anything” — receiving applause from his supporters.

On the networks, Bolsonarist deputies, such as Nikolas Ferreira (PL-MG), demonstrate against the reform. “I will not be a part of this,” he tweeted.

Michelle Bolsonaro also voted against and attacked the PT in her speech at the meeting. “I often hear people say that they are not feeling this spirit of opposition towards our parliamentarians. […] We don’t want to hear that the PL deputy is a watermelon,” he said.

Bolsonaristas heard by the report say that it is too early to talk about a break between Bolsonaro and Tarcísio, but they consider that the split could move towards this outcome. In their opinion, the governor has to learn to be in opposition to the PT, especially if he wants to win the presidential election.

Deputies also say that Tarcísio left the meeting demoralized. Deputy Ricardo Salles (PL-SP) was one of those who spoke attacking the governor.

“I was one of those who was beaten the most, because I was precisely in one of the ministries whose objective is to face the left. It is much easier, without any demerit to the work that was done, to build roads, bridges and railroads than to fight the left”, said in reference to his role in the Ministry of the Environment and Tarcísio in the Ministry of Infrastructure.

Salles also said that “no one granted Tarcísio the right to speak on behalf of the PL deputies” and that São Paulo “does not have a right-wing government”.

The disputes between Tarcísio and Bolsonaristas have been growing since the ex-minister’s victory in 2022.

Despite charging radical deputies for positions and participation in the government, Bolsonaro maintained his support for his godson and argued that it was necessary to help Tarcísio in the face of the challenges that the management of São Paulo imposes.

Tarcísio’s series of gestures in the center and the fact that he did not adopt radical right agendas also bothered allies, to the point of generating crises with the governor’s base in the Legislative Assembly. The reading of Bolsonarist deputies is that Gilberto Kassab (PSD), Secretary of Government, has influence in the Palácio dos Bandeirantes, while Bolsonaro does not.

The tax reform, however, placed creator and creature on opposite sides. On the last 26th, Bolsonaro was in São Paulo, where he gathered the PL bench in the state to preach against the approval of the text.

Five days later, on Sunday (2), it was Tarcísio’s turn to gather the São Paulo bench at a dinner at the Palácio dos Bandeirantes, where he defended the approval of the reform, as long as some points were changed. In Brasilia, on Wednesday (5), the governor withdrew his criticism after meeting with Haddad and other governors.