Governors opposing Lula cite travel, vacations and check-ups and miss an act on 8/1 – 04/01/2024 – Power

Governors who oppose President Lula (PT) and are seen as possible candidates for the Palácio do Planalto in 2026 should not attend the event that the PT member plans in Brasília, next Monday (8), to mark one year of the coup attacks of January 8th.

The federal government is preparing an act in defense of democracy, with the motto “Unshakable Democracy”, which will be attended by the presidents of the STF (Supreme Federal Court), the Chamber and the Senate, as well as governors and ministers. As shown by SheetLula expects around 500 guests at the National Congress.

The day after the invasion of the headquarters of the three Powers last year, Lula managed to get the governors to join a meeting — of the 27, 23 were in person in Brasília and 4 (GO, RO, AC and MT) sent their vices or representatives. After the meeting, Lula, his ministers and the governors continued walking through Praça dos Três Poderes, from the Planalto Palace to the Supreme Court.

On the 12th, at an event with some governors, including Tarcísio de Freitas (Republicans), to announce investments by public banks in the states, Lula publicly invited the heads of state executives.

“I’m inviting all the governors, because on January 8th we are going to hold an event here in Brasília to remind the people that there was an attempt to carry out a coup on January 8th and that it was defeated by the democracy of this country”, said the president.

“I intend to have all the governors here, deputies, senators, businesspeople, to never again let people doubt that the democratic regime is the only thing that guarantees that institutions work and the people have access to the wealth they produce”, he added. .

The governor of São Paulo, who is on vacation in Europe, will only return to Brazil on the night of January 8th and, therefore, will not participate in the event. Tarcísio’s aides claim that the trip was already scheduled and that there was a coincidence — behind the scenes, however, they criticize the act promoted by Lula.

Tarcísio informed the Legislative Assembly of São Paulo (Alesp) that he would be absent from office from December 25th to January 8th, during which time he will be replaced by the vice-governor, Felicio Ramuth (PSD). The vice president, in turn, travels to participate in an event in China in the early hours of January 8, the day on which the role of governor will be held by the president of Alesp, André do Prado (PL).

The Government of São Paulo responded to the report that Tarcísio will be traveling on the date and that, in principle, there is no representative scheduled to go to the event.

According to Ramuth, the governor is “on a well-deserved rest” which was already scheduled. “It was a coincidence,” he told Sheet.

Elected with the support of Jair Bolsonaro (PL), Tarcísio maintained republican dialogue with Lula and specifically criticized the federal government, despite calls from the Bolsonaro right to become more involved in opposing the PT member. Participating in the event on the 8th, however, would be too much and would create embarrassment, according to the governor’s allies.

Tarcísio’s entourage considers that Lula’s act, which was described as a “frill”, has a more political than institutional character and tends to be empty. There are those who see January 8th as an act of vandalism, but not a coup d’état.

According to the São Paulo governor’s assistants, although his absence was not intentional, it was the most diplomatic way to avoid any embarrassment.

Last year, Tarcísio would not go to Lula’s meeting with the governors the day after the coup attacks, but he backtracked. At the time, the then president of the STF, minister Rosa Weber, called the governors and stated that their presence was important for the defense of democracy.

The government of Minas Gerais informed that governor Romeu Zema’s (Novo) agenda has not yet been defined and that it can be followed on the government website. Palácio Tiradentes did not say whether the governor was invited to the event.

Allies, however, say they think it is unlikely that the governor will attend given the possibility of further political wear and tear, especially with his base in the Legislative Assembly.

Zema has the support of 57 of the 77 deputies in the House, but faces difficulties in approving projects. Among the allies are 10 parliamentarians from PL, the party of former president Bolsonaro.

The governor of Rio de Janeiro, Cláudio Castro (PL), has not yet decided whether he will attend the event. He has a secretariat meeting that day, but is in contact with other Bolsonarian governors to assess attendance.

Castro renewed ties with Bolsonaro by embracing the pre-candidacy of federal deputy Alexandre Ramagem (PL-RJ) for Rio de Janeiro City Hall. The realignment, after a year of rapprochement with the Lula government, takes place to remain close to the former president’s family with an eye on the 2026 election, when he intends to run for the Senate.

In the South region, none of the three governors is expected to attend. Eduardo Leite (PSDB), from Rio Grande do Sul, is on vacation in Trancoso, Bahia, and returns to Palácio Piratini only on the 11th. The advisor of vice-governor Gabriel Souza (MDB), who could represent the Government of RS , responded to Sheet that the agenda for next week has not yet been defined.

Both Jorginho Mello (PL), from Santa Catarina, and Ratinho Júnior (PSD), from Paraná, responded that they will not go to Brasília because they already have “other commitments” scheduled for the 8th. The PR government should not send a representative and the de SC did not respond to this question.

Leite remained neutral in the second round of the 2022 presidential elections. The others formally supported Bolsonaro — Jorginho since the first round and Ratinho as soon as he was re-elected governor, at the end of the first round.

The governor of Goiás, Ronaldo Caiado (União Brasil), told the reporter that he will not participate in the event with Lula because he will be hospitalized for a medical check-up. In December 2022, Caiado underwent heart surgery and was on rest for 45 days.