Gestão Tarcísio embraces themes demonized by Bolsonarism – 02/10/2023 – Politics

Tarcísio de Freitas (Republicans) was elected governor of São Paulo betting on the conservative electorate and as one of the political heirs of Bolsonarism.

In its first month, however, it generated surprise by embracing themes demonized by former president Jair Bolsonaro (PL) and his radical followers, in a menu that includes the green agenda to the search for dialogue with indigenous people.

The period also included friendly meetings with President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) and former US Vice President Al Gore, an activist against global warming branded a “globalist” by the extreme right.

A decision that caused surprise even in the base of the governor in Alesp (Legislative Assembly of São Paulo) was the sanction of the law of the state deputy Caio França (PSB) and other opposition parliamentarians that foresees the distribution of cannabis medicine in the public network.

The strongman of the management, the Secretary of Government, Gilberto Kassab (PSD), even compared the current management with the names of former Tucano governors before the turn to the right given by the acronym.

“Here in São Paulo we have a government with the face of the PSDB of [Franco] Montoro, from [Mario] Covas, with the whole state rooting for it to work”, he declared. The two names mentioned by Kassab, by the way, already had phrases quoted by Tarcísio himself in his first speech in office.

Tarcísio pays homage to the political group that elected him, ranging from public praise for the former president to the nomination of so-called “root Bolsonaristas” such as Secretary of Politics for Women Sonaira Fernandes (Republicans) and the head of the Security portfolio, Guilherme Derrite ( PL).

However, he has disagreed with Bolsonaro and his anti-scientific speech. In search of investments for the state, for example, Tarcísio defended a green agenda in Davos, with flags such as energy transition, green hydrogen and second-generation ethanol.

On the occasion, he spoke with Al Gore about climate change. Gore is a critic of Bolsonaro’s policies – in a meeting between the two, the former president even said that he wanted to “explore” the Amazon together with the United States, creating an embarrassing situation.

“He [Tarcísio] has, since the campaign, shown that in a way it is a little permeable to questions, especially of scientific evidence, which is a contradiction with root Bolsonarism”, says political scientist Marco Antonio Teixeira, from FGV.

In addition to the environment, the professor cites as an example the issue of cameras in police uniforms that, after talking about removing the equipment, Tarcísio backtracked amid the dissemination of research that showed the benefit of the policy.

His challenge, says Teixeira, is to balance between Bolsonarism, the Universal Church behind his party, the Republicans, and the political pragmatism of Gilberto Kassab. The latter, says the professor, has been gaining more and more strength.

For state deputy Marina Helou (Rede), although Tarcísio has made positive signals and shown openness to dialogue, it is still too early to know how the various political forces that make up the government will accommodate.

“On the issue of the environment, Tarcísio made some positive statements, but unfortunately the practical action was the merger of the Secretariat of the Environment with that of Infrastructure and Transport, losing the leading role”, he says.

“I see that there is a predisposition to dialogue. However, I still think it is too early to say that there is an opposition to Bolsonarism. What I see is that there is a dispute and composition of some political forces, among which Bolsonarism is one of them and had its space, such as the appointment of Captain Derrite, the Woman’s secretary”, he says.

In the government of São Paulo, there is a determination for the Environment portfolio, headed by Natália Resende, to seek coordination with the other secretariats to maintain this agenda.

In the Agriculture and Supply portfolio, headed by Antônio Junqueira de Queiroz, the launch of a green fertilizer is being prepared soon and the speech is that agro and the green agenda can go hand in hand.

Another point on which Tarcísio differed from his political godfather was the sanction of the law that provides for the distribution of cannabidiol in the public network. At the federal level, Bolsonaro called a project related to the substance rubbish and signaled that he would veto it.

In an emotional speech, Tarcísio reported having a nephew with Dravet syndrome, a rare condition that causes seizures, and which uses cannabidiol.

Although surprised, the conservative base in the House says that popular support for the liberation and personal experience shield Tarcísio from being criticized by his electorate for this project.

This week, however, the Tarcísio administration wrote in justification of vetoing the bill that autism in children is changeable and may even cease to exist, which is disputed by specialists and activists in the area. The project, by Deputy Paulo Correa Junior (PSD) and approved by the Legislative Assembly, provided for indeterminate validity to medical reports that attest to the autism spectrum disorder.

Still going against Bolsonaro, the Government of São Paulo created a management committee with 20 indigenous leaders to monitor the execution of a program that remunerates indigenous peoples who provide environmental services and biodiversity protection in five state parks.

The area in which Tarcísio remains most aligned with the former president is the economic issue, with the presence of several former assistants of Paulo Guedes and a speech focused on privatizations – with Sabesp as the main target.

In this area, however, he seeks dialogue with the Lula government in an attempt to maintain the privatization program for the port of Santos, which he modeled as Bolsonaro’s Minister of Infrastructure.

In addition to the two Bolsonarists chosen for the secretariat, Tarcísio has taken several others to work in second and third-level positions.

In Culture, Pedro Mastrobuono, former president of Ibram —Brazilian Institute of Museums— in the Bolsonaro government, takes over the direction of the Latin America Memorial. The area’s portfolio, however, was left with a technician in the area, Marília Marton, who defends the Rouanet Law, also demonized by Bolsonaristas.

It is in Alesp that one of the bets of Tarcísio’s most conservative supporters.

Bolsonaristas in the House believe that Tarcísio will sanction the project against the so-called health passport, which was proposed by deputy Janaina Paschoal (PRTB) in 2021 and had the endorsement of 15 more parliamentarians, most Bolsonaristas.

The text prohibits the requirement of vaccination to enter schools and universities and to hold positions in public administration.

Despite the waves against Bolsonaro, Janaina, a conservative deputy not always aligned with the former president, praises the governor’s performance. “Tarcísio has always shown himself to be a thoughtful person and has behaved like that in all these matters”, she said.

This week, Tarcísio was against a proposal from a close ally, state deputy Frederico d’Avila (PL-SP). He vetoed a bill that would reduce the estate and gift tax in the state.