Crisis in the PL generates dispute for deputies and ‘PSL risk’ – 07/14/2023 – Power

The discussion between PL deputies in a WhatsApp group last weekend caused other parties to seek out parliamentarians who are dissatisfied and who may leave the party of former president Jair Bolsonaro.

Today with 99 deputies, the largest bench in the Chamber of Deputies, the PL now replicates, in part, the crisis that affected the former PSL, a dwarf party that Bolsonaro inflated in 2018, but which he abandoned after being elected president, taking with him several of his allies.

Monitoring possible changes in acronyms is something that is constantly on the radar of party leaders who aim to increase their respective benches. According to reports made to Sheet, this movement has intensified in recent days. Subtitles such as Republicans, MDB, PP, Patriota and Solidariedade are cited.

A parliamentarian told the report, under reservation, that he is in advanced conversations with five congressmen from the PL. In the words of this politician, the caption is a “time bomb” ready to explode, either in future votes in the House that divide the bench or in discussions about the municipal elections in 2024.

The crisis in the PSL, which was renamed União Brasil after merging with the DEM, occurred in 2019.

After being elected president, in 2018, Bolsonaro announced that he would leave the party due to differences with party leaders, a movement accompanied by allies of the then president.

They later tried to create a genuinely Bolsonarist party, the Alliance for Brazil, but the project ended in failure.

There are differences, however, between Bolsonarism in the PSL and the PL.

Bolsonaro is no longer in the Presidency of the Republic and the President of the PL, Valdemar Costa Neto, commands a party with more weight than the former PSL, in addition to being an experienced and influential politician among the deputies.

The discussion between PL deputies began on Saturday (8), the day after the conclusion of the vote on the Tax Reform in the Chamber, when 20 of the 99 deputies of the party voted in favor of the proposal, even after pressure from Bolsonaro.

Members of the group of 20 were the target of criticism on social networks and were uncomfortable.

The discussion had an exchange of insults and even a request for deputies to leave the caption, putting on one side a group more aligned with Bolsonaro and on the other parliamentarians who are part of the centrão and not the so-called “root Bolsonarism”.

Among Bolsonarists, there is an assessment that an eventual entry of the centrão in the Lula (PT) government will further intensify internal disagreements.

Leader of the PL in the Chamber, deputy Altineu Côrtes (RJ), who is from the wing closest to the center, said that the situation has already been overcome, that all the deputies are “with a head of tranquility” and that “by no means” the party will crack.

“The PL is structured. President Valdemar is a great leader, he has dialogue with all deputies and I try to maintain this dialogue as well. We have to seek respect and balance to reach understandings. It is natural to have differences”, he said.

He also stated that the PL estimate is that the caption will grow in the 2026 party window and that eventual departures would be linked to regional political issues, not to internal divergences. The window is the period in which deputies can change caption without risk of losing their mandate.

“Our forecast is that we are going to go from 99 to at least 120 deputies. Obviously we are going to lose some, but we are going to win others. Our balance will be positive.”

Côrtes met this week with Valdemar and Bolsonaro, separately, and addressed the issue. He says he heard from Bolsonaro that a lot of dialogue with deputies was needed to “resolve the situation”.

On Tuesday (11), in an attempt to circumvent the crisis, Valdemar released a letter addressed to parliamentarians in which he normalizes the bench’s differences.

He defended deputies who voted with the Executive on certain matters, said that the PL is an opposition party and waved to the former president, stating that the bench will be united “in the unconditional defense of the values ​​that our President Bolsonaro has reborn in our hearts” .

“My assessment is that everything is going as expected by the party. We can all see that every day we are more united and seeking the best for the PL family”, said deputy Antonio Carlos Rodrigues (SP), former minister of Dilma Rousseff (PT), one of those who voted in favor of the Tax Reform.

“The climate is currently very appeasing. The letter softened, everyone understood. Today this is no longer discussed, our mind is on the future. We need to organize the party for the electoral dispute in 2024”, said deputy Coronel Chrisóstomo (RO), from the most Bolsonarist wing.

Even so, party lawmakers claim, with reservation, that the climate is not yet pacified – and predict that new discussions should take place. They claim that after the parliamentary recess a meeting with leaders of the PL will be necessary.

Another factor that bothered deputies was the leak of WhatsApp messages in the press. On Tuesday night (11), a small group of PL deputies met in the leadership of the minority in the Chamber to discuss the situation. Cell phones had to stay out of the room.

Eduardo Bolsonaro (PL-RJ) said he prefers to resolve differences face to face. “I learned on the PSL that you don’t talk in a WhatsApp group to avoid leaks.”

In another WhatsApp group, which brings together about 60 PL deputies linked to Bolsonaro, the topic was also discussed. According to reports, parliamentarians even defended a collective departure from the party, while others asked for the expulsion of colleagues closest to Valdemar.