Daniela Carneiro’s resignation is an obstacle for Lula in RJ – 06/14/2023 – Politics

The possible dismissal of the Minister of Tourism, Daniela Carneiro (União Brasil-RJ), is seen by PT members and allies in Rio de Janeiro as yet another closed door by President Lula (PT) to voters with an evangelical and Bolsonarist profile in the state, mainly predominant in Baixada Fluminense.

The decision would make it difficult to regain the preference of the electorate in Rio de Janeiro, lost in 2018 to former president Jair Bolsonaro (PL).

Rio de Janeiro, the third largest electoral college in the country, and Amapá, the 26th, were the only states not retaken by the PT in last year’s presidential victory — Lula won in 13 units of the federation and his opponent in 14.

This Tuesday (13), Lula met with Daniela Carneiro and told her that there is an explicit request for the position she holds. According to reports from members of the Planalto Palace, the president explained that the minister’s situation is very difficult and is now seeking an “honorable way out” for her.

União Brasil pressures the government to replace Daniela with deputy Celso Sabino (PA), in the midst of negotiations to expand the political base in the Chamber.

The mayor of Belford Roxo, Waguinho (Republicans), who has been running the city for six years, has declared that he will not abandon Lula even with a possible resignation of his wife.

However, he makes it clear that he will be freer to form alliances in 2024, which can strengthen the Bolsonarist base in Rio. One of the goals of the PL for next year is to increase the number of mayors in the country, in order to create a political basis for an eventual new presidential candidacy.

“The Ministry of Tourism is very representative for Rio de Janeiro. The weakening of this alliance will not be our fault. It is a Bolsonarist state, with a Bolsonarist governor, with a huge number of evangelicals. And we end up running out of instruments”, said Waguinho to Sheet in the second (12).

Last year, despite the mayor’s support for the PT in the second round, Lula rose from 38.9% to 39.8% of the valid votes in Belford Roxo from the first to the second stage of the election, while Bolsonaro jumped from 54.8 % to 60.2%.

The mayor and the deputy (the most voted in the election for federal deputy in the state) were seen as a way of breaking the broad Bolsonarist dominance in a region where PT members had already managed to enter in the past.

Daniela was Lula’s last decision to complete the assembly of his ministry. It overcame the competition of two other Fluminense allies of the petista: the deputies Marcelo Freixo (then in the PSB, today in the PT), chosen for Embratur, and Pedro Paulo (PSD), linked to the mayor of Rio de Janeiro, Eduardo Paes (PSD ).

The closest allies lost space for the deputy who could offer a double door opening: with Baixada Fluminense and União Brasil.

This was also one of the main reasons for keeping Daniela after the crisis that arose with the revelation of Sheet that the couple’s political group maintained close links with militiamen.

“He is a guy that our own people in Rio recognize as a protagonist. There will be people who will say ‘so-and-so called you that’, ‘so-and-so campaigned for Bolsonaro’. we’re not going to have people,” said senator Jaques Wagner (PT-BA), leader of the government.

Lula went so far as to state that the minister’s relationship with militiamen was limited to “a photo” — when in fact there were videos, photos and even the appointment of a convict to lead a militia in the city hall.

“She appeared in a truck there with a militia guy. Honestly, if we take into account people who are photographed alongside other people, we won’t talk to anyone, because I’m the guy who takes the most photographs in the world”, said the president in February.

The PT’s distancing from the Baixada Fluminense occurred in 2018, along with the Bolsonarist advance in the state. Deputy Lindbergh Farias (PT-RJ) was mayor of Nova Iguaçu twice (2009-2014) riding on the popularity of Lula’s first two terms. “It is a region very marked by the evangelical electorate and, currently, with strong Bolsonarist influence.”

During this period, Belford Roxo gave victory to a candidate from the PC do B (Dennis Dauttmam), and Lula had massive support from mayors in the region, such as Washington Reis (MDB), currently an ally of Bolsonaro.

The bet is that, with the eventual success of the Lula government and the maintenance of Waguinho’s support, the candidates supported by the PT in the region will grow, as well as in the first two terms of the current president.

A possible fall for Daniela would also be another defeat for the list accumulated by PT-RJ in recent decades. PT leaders in the state defend keeping the minister with an eye on strengthening the state.

“Minister Daniela is a partner in political construction in our state, she has competence and capacity for collective construction, an important partnership for Rio de Janeiro’s politics, her permanence is the consolidation of a strong State of Rio de Janeiro and represented in the team of ministers of the president Lula”, said the president of the PT-RJ, João Maurício.

Since the beginning of his wife’s fry in the ministry, Waguinho has resumed contact with former ally Marcio Canella (União Brasil-RJ), a state deputy who supported Bolsonaro in the election.