Eduardo Leite says he aims for a union with Zema and Tarcísio in 2026 – 04/13/2023 – Politics

The governor of Rio Grande do Sul, Eduardo Leite (PSDB), stated that, in 2026, in the presidential election, he wants to be with the governor of Minas Gerais, Romeu Zema (Novo), and the governor of São Paulo, Tarcísio de Freitas ( Republicans), to build an alternative to Jair Bolsonaro (PL) and Lula (PT).

The three governors are disputing the spoils of the right and Bolsonarism in a future presidential election – Zema and Leite target the Planalto, while Tarcísio may still run for another term of governor.

“[A eleição de] 2026 is not a personal project, I will be on the side of the path that points away from the PT and away from Bolsonaro”, said Leite at an event at the Freedom Forum, held by the Instituto de Estudos Empresariais in Porto Alegre, this Thursday (13).

Alongside the Minas Gerais governor, who also spoke at the event, the toucan also said: “On my part there will be no division, I want to be together with Zema, I want to be together with Tarcísio”.

Zema, in turn, did not explicitly refer to the 2026 presidential election. At the event, the man from Minas Gerais was applauded, while Leite was booed – he also had occasional support from the public at certain times.

While Zema criticized the left and Lula, Leite targeted both the PT and Bolsonaro. The toucan stated that the PSDB has always been in opposition to the PT, but that it should also not condone “with prejudice and intolerance that we identify with what has become evident in the country in recent years”, in reference to former President Bolsonaro.

Questioned about the federal government, Zema said that there is resentment with the past and “a climate of revanchism that is not good”.

The two governors also criticized Lula’s decrees that change the regulation of the new legal framework for sanitation. Leite and Zema defended the privatization of state sanitation companies.