Clash between Tabata and Boulos fuels parallel with Ciro’s stance in Lula’s election – 03/09/2024 – Power

Tabata Amaral’s (PSB) criticism that his opponent Guilherme Boulos (PSOL) made “naughtiness” or “creative statistics” in a social media publication led to the comparison among the progressive electorate that the deputy will act not like Simone Tebet (MDB ), but rather like a Ciro Gomes (PDT).

Rivals of Mayor Ricardo Nunes (MDB) in the election of the capital of São Paulo, Boulos and Tabata are brought closer by their activities on the left and form the base of President Lula (PT), which created an expectation of a non-aggression pact and mutual support in the second round.

In an election that mirrors the last presidential election, with the repetition of the national polarization between PT and Bolsonarists, Tabata, by seeking his electorate in the strangled third way and opposing the extreme right, would play the role of Tebet, who joined Lula in the second shift.

But, for not sparing the psolist, Tabata has been called out on social media by PT and PSOL voters for Ciro, a candidate who targeted Lula in 2022 and, with that, would have inflated anti-PTism.

The comparison, however, is rejected by the deputy and those around Boulos, who still has Tabata’s support in the second round and, therefore, has avoided a clash with her.

Tabata’s allies admit the parallel with Ciro in the sense that, like the pedestrianist in 2022, she will not fulfill the role of an auxiliary line in the municipal election. They state that she will not accept being placed in a secondary position and that she will not adopt a complacent stance.

Questioned by Sheet this Friday (8), Tabata declined to comment on the comparisons with Ciro on the networks. “The day I worry about Twitter, please remove me from this dispute. Because then I will only talk to the bubble,” he said.

“Never think that I will have a position or an attitude to please these bubbles that do not represent society. Twitter will hiss, it will say bad things and that’s okay.”

Last Tuesday (5), after Boulos published a graph with a combination of scenarios from a survey and excluded her from among her opponents, Tabata recorded a video insinuating that he distorted the survey to harm her.

In response to actions filed by Tabata and Nunes, the Electoral Court ordered Boulos to remove the post from the air. According to the psolist, the intention of the graph was to compare him only to opponents from the Bolsonarist camp and, therefore, it was excluded.

Asked about the episode this Friday, Boulos declined to comment on a possible non-aggression pact with Tabata, avoided criticizing her and said that he considers her a “great parliamentarian from the education bench”.

“I’m not going to get into internet arguments, it’s not my place. […] I have greater respect for Tabata, I think her pre-candidacy contributes to the qualification of the electoral process. […] She is part of a democratic political field and will express this in the electoral process”, he stated.

On other occasions, Tabata also turned against Boulos. In an interview with Sheetlast September, she said that radicalism was not the deputy’s biggest problem, but rather “a lack of seriousness and maturity”.

Despite former PSOL president Juliano Medeiros’ harsh response to Tabata’s video, the orientation of Boulos’ team is not to inflate the confrontation.

“When one doesn’t want to, two don’t fight. Our stance is not to fight with her, we will focus the fight on Bolsonarism and its representative, Ricardo Nunes”, says state deputy Donato (PT), one of the coordinators of the government program of Boulos.

“I don’t see why there wouldn’t be any way to talk to her to get her support in the second round. Likewise, if she were the one in the second round, we would have no doubt in supporting her”, summarizes the PT member.

Donato also says that it is “inappropriate” to compare her with Ciro and that the episode in the post “will not set the tone for the relationship between Tabata and Boulos”. The deputy states that she does not treat Boulos as a priority target and has denounced irregularities by Nunes.

Other Boulos strategists minimize the clash with the deputy, claiming that she has the legitimacy to define her electoral tactics and that receiving attacks is part of the game.

Tabata’s team assesses that Boulos’ allies expected her to adopt a stance of non-aggression and support in the second round, as happened with Tebet. For them, those around the deputy, including Lula, try to create a climate of partnership between the two, as if it were “coffee with milk”.

An example of the construction of this narrative would be in Lula’s praise for the parliamentarian, stating that she is a young woman with a political future — the speech would include a subliminal message that today she is not ready for the role.

Internal polls indicate that Tabata is able to advance over both Boulos and Nunes’ voters and, therefore, there would be no reason to spare the psolist from criticism.

There is also an assessment that the municipal campaign is a tool for Tabata to position himself on the political board and work on his image, even if he fails to win. Therefore, it would make no sense to take a timid stance.

“She didn’t start this confusion related to the graph. As candidates try to make her invisible, of course she also needs to present herself. Always with elegance, with argument”, says state deputy Caio França (PSB).

“Tabata will play a very important role in the campaign. If it were to join one of the candidates, it would be better not to be a candidate”, he adds.

Political scientist Marco Teixeira, from FGV-SP, says that Tabata’s comparison with Ciro is unfortunate. “It’s another election, another profile. Tabata is not Ciro, she’s not aggressive, she doesn’t swear.”

In his opinion, this comparison could even cause harm to Boulos’ campaign if it hinders her eventual support in the second round. “It’s not something that adds to Boulos’ campaign and it only creates tension. Even more so as Lula and Ciro’s relationship is tense. It’s calling yourself a problem,” he says.

Teixeira assesses that Boulos’ strategy is to re-edit national polarization, and this appears to have been the reason for excluding Tabata from the chart. “[Ele está] looking back, with the memory that Bolsonaro lost to Lula in the city. But Boulos has to remember that he has a ceiling and that if he burns potential second-round allies, that could be decisive.”