Fire hits home of new president of União Brasil, Antônio Rueda, in PE

The elected president of União Brasil two weeks ago, Antônio Rueda, had his beach house set on fire on Monday night (11) in Pernambuco. The residence of his sister, Maria Emília Rueda, party treasurer, was also the target of the flames, and both are located on Toquinho beach, close to Porto de Galinhas, on the southern coast of the state.

According to initial information, the fires occurred after Rueda filed a police report due to threats. He was in Miami, in the United States, with his family, and returned to Brazil in the early hours of this Tuesday (12). Rueda’s family said they “deeply regret” the fire in the two houses and asked the Pernambuco Civil Police for a “swift and rigorous” investigation.

“The family does not rule out the possibility of an attack motivated by party political issues. Antonio de Rueda and Maria Emília de Rueda trust in the thorough investigation of the facts and affirm that they will not be intimidated by any threat”, said União Brasil in a note to People’s Gazette.

A CNN Brazil, Rueda said that “it is a very serious situation, I asked my lawyers to make the necessary communications with the authorities”. Lawyer Paulo Catta Preta, who represents Antônio Rueda, will provide further clarification later this morning at a press conference in Brasília.

The party-political motivation cited by Rueda’s family is due to the dispute over leadership of the party with the current president, Luciano Bivar, who even canceled the convention that elected the new president. Days later, the parliamentarian even disqualified the elected candidate for allegedly having ignored the Statute and for “deficiencies in the registration of the ticket”.

The possibility of political motivation was also cited by governor Ronaldo Caiado (União-GO), who attributed the authorship of the fire to Bivar, as reported to GloboNews. A People’s Gazette contacted Luciano Bivar and is awaiting a response.

Caiado stated that he will sue Bivar in the Superior Electoral Court (TSE) due to the fire and alleged threats against Rueda.

“Political crime, the citizen is disqualified. He threatened his family and the new party president, saying he was going to kill. The party will make a representation to the TSE so that this [o incêndio] be investigated as a political crime, and we will also ask for the revocation of Bivar’s mandate in Congress”, said Caiado, one of the main names in the Union and who has been speculated to contest the presidential succession in 2026.

The dispute for command of União Brasil is also due to the size of the bench in the Chamber, with 59 deputies, in addition to a party fund of R$758 million during the 2022 election. In 2024, it will have R$517 million.

União Brasil emerged from the merger between DEM and PSL, the party that elected former president Jair Bolsonaro (PL). Rueda obtained the support of the majority of parliamentarians, leaders and the governor of Goiás, Ronaldo Caiado.

Bivar, on the other hand, sought to strengthen himself among the wing that came from the PSL, the party he commanded before the merger. Amid the dispute, Bivar even accused Rueda of using the acronym “to do business”.