Eduardo Leite rejects PSDB’s destructive opposition to Lula – 02/02/2023 – Panel

New national president of the PSDB, the governor of Rio Grande do Sul, Eduardo Leite, 37, recognizes the difficult moment the party is going through, but defends that the crisis of the party be used as an opportunity to review its flags.

“The moment is not easy, but perhaps it has never been so important to strengthen and have the PSDB in the national political scenario”, he says.

In 2022, the party, like other center forces, was squeezed between petism and Bolsonarism. For the first time since redemocratization, he did not have his own presidential candidacy. He also lost his main political stronghold, the government of São Paulo, and saw the bench in the Chamber dwindle to just 13 deputies.

Leite, a politician of the new generation, was taken over by the party to try to revitalize its image, program and electoral appeal. He says that the idea is for the party to present itself as opposition to the Lula government (PT), but without the “destructive” character of Bolsonarism.

“It is a responsible opposition. It is not the one that makes it unfeasible, it is the one that takes a stand on the issues and presents alternatives”, he says, who does not rule out presenting himself as a candidate for president in 2026.

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Mr. is taking over the PSDB in one of the most difficult moments in its history, after an electoral defeat and the departure of cadres. How do you intend to rebuild the party? The moment for the PSDB is not easy, but perhaps it has never been so important for us to strengthen and have the PSDB on the national political scene. The last election was one of intense polarization between Bolsonarism and lulopetismo, and what the country experienced was people going to the polls against one or the other, against Lula’s return or Bolsonaro’s permanence. The election has to be for people to take dreams, expectations, to vote in favour. The PSDB needs to use the moment of crisis as an opportunity to review its program, its positions and the flags with which it will present itself to the population. Crises impose revision, reformatting.

As mr. received the departure of senator Mara Gabrilli to the PSD? She said the party had become a moral runt and had not adequately allocated resources to female candidates. I regret the departure of Senator Mara Gabrilli, I have appreciation and affection, but I also regret the way in which she communicated in relation to the party. The PSDB has problems, but I have no doubt that it is still necessary. Because it’s not enough to be in the center. You have to have positions in relation to the themes, you have to know how to present yourself to society. This is a challenge that we will have to meet now. I respect PSD and Gilberto Kassab [presidente do partido], but what is the PSD’s agenda for Brazil? What are your projects? I respect that the senator has found another path, but she has had support with resources for her candidacy for vice president.

Mr. almost went to PSD last year. It is not a criticism of the PSD, which is our ally. I am drawing attention to the fact that the parties at the center, including the PSDB, have had difficulties in presenting a clear agenda. One of the factors that led me to not opt ​​for a change of party ended up being confirmed: the PSD is at the base of the Lula government and is also with Tarcísio in São Paulo. They are programmatically very different positions. This participation in the Lula government is not an agenda, from an ideological point of view, that I defend. I respect those who do, perhaps because they have another purpose. The PT’s agenda in the Federal Executive does not meet what we think from the point of view of modernizing the public machine, as it will not advance in privatizations, will have difficulties with concessions, has little clarity of fiscal responsibility, is unable to present a commitment to reducing the deficit and machine expenses.

PSDB senators declared support for Rogério Marinho for the presidency of the Senate. These nods to Bolsonarism brought a lot of wear and tear to the party in the past. Why repeat them? I am governor of a state, I am not present in the negotiations for votes within Congress to be able to affirm everything that happened. But Bolsonaro’s PT and PL are together in the Chamber of Deputies, and that doesn’t mean they’re saying that the PT is associated with Bolsonarism. In the case of the Senate election, this statement is made. Why are there two weights and two measures? What weighs in elections in the Houses are the internal components, much more than the replication of national polarization. The conduction on the themes, what was shelved or taken forward in the agendas, are the points most used by the senators as arguments for the positions.

The third way could not find space between Lula and Bolsonaro in 2022. What leads you to believe that this scenario will change in 2026? We have to build the conditions to get there by presenting the country with an alternative to polarization. We don’t know if Bolsonaro or Lula will be candidates in 2026. We have the opportunity until the next elections to show not just “neither one nor the other”, but something that people want. This is our challenge.

Can the erosion of Bolsonarism help the PSDB to reposition itself as the biggest opponent of the PT? I think so, and in the sense of non-destructive opposition, which simply creates obstacles. But opposition that criticizes, suggests alternatives, makes a deep debate about the government’s positions and their consequences. This is the difference. We want to help make the country better. President Fernando Henrique once said something that I find interesting: the center needs to polarize. It doesn’t have to stop being a center, but it has to have positions.

As mr. accompanied the invasion of the headquarters of the three Powers? Do you think former President Bolsonaro contributed to this? It was a regrettable fact, which needs to be repudiated. It was rejected, the governors got together to be together there in Brasília the next day, with President Lula, the president of the STF, expressing their solidarity. There was a side effect of building understanding among different leaders about our institutions and our democracy. It is necessary to determine the responsibilities of who finances and who inflates. I cannot objectively affirm Bolsonaro’s involvement, but I can safely say that at the very least he did not fulfill what was morally expected of a former president of the Republic to seek to appease feelings. He did not fulfill this function and deserves investigations about his involvement or not.

As mr. Are you going to reconcile your role as governor who needs to relate to the federal government with that of president of a party that opposes the same government? Is it possible to reconcile these two Eduardos Leites? There is only one Eduardo Leite, not two. The secret for this is precisely to be consistent in making the opposition in a high, republican way, without seeking to make the government unfeasible. If it were to embody another role, it wouldn’t even deserve my participation. Because it’s not the way of doing politics that I believe in, which is to improve people’s lives. I have disagreements from an ideological and programmatic point of view with the PT and with President Lula and the government that he will form, but I do not generate suspicions about his intentions. Because the big problem with politics is that the debate is much more centered on trying to convince society about the bad intentions of an adversary. I do not distrust President Lula’s intentions. I just think they’re wrong.

Will the PSDB be the opposition, then? Or will it have independence from the government? It is opposition responsibly. It is not the one that makes it unfeasible, it is the one that takes a position on the issues and presents alternatives. I assume the presidency of the party to hold an internal discussion and then up front we’re going to hold a convention, and I don’t even know if I’ll be the one to stay. I will coordinate a process of revising the party’s flags, agenda and then we will define who leads the party in the coming years.

Mr. intend to run for president in 2026? Asking that to someone who has been mayor and governor is like asking a journalist for a newspaper in the countryside if he wants to work for a large vehicle like Folha. It is natural, the aspiration is legitimate. But I am absolutely aware and understanding that politics is very dynamic and who knows what circumstances we will have in 2026. Perhaps the population is looking for another candidate profile. Brazil had to choose in the last elections if we were going to delay ourselves to the 18th century from a civilizing point of view or if we were going to go back to the 80s only from an economic point of view. I think we need to get out of this. I will try to help there in 2026 to constitute a force in the center. If my name helps to unite, perfect. But if not, no problem, let’s help someone else who can lead this project.

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Eduardo Leite, 37
Born in Pelotas (RS), he was city councilor and mayor (2013-2016). He held the position of governor of Rio Grande do Sul from January 2019 to March 2022, when he resigned to try to run for president. He was re-elected in October 2022.