“I will always be loyal to Bolsonaro”, guarantees Tarcísio after friction

The governor of São Paulo, Tarcísio de Freitas (Republicans), promised this Sunday (9) to be “always loyal” to former president Jair Bolsonaro (PL). It was his first public statement after the two disagreed over the tax reform approved by the Chamber of Deputies early on Friday (7).

“The president [Bolsonaro] is a big friend. We can differ at some point about the reform, it’s normal. We cannot always agree on everything. It was like that when I was a minister”, said the governor during an event in honor of the 1932 Revolution, in São Paulo.

“The points I had made about the renovation were made before for him, and everything is fine. We talked and I will always be loyal to the president, I will always be grateful to the president. If I’m here, I owe him,” he added.

Contradicting Bolsonaro’s orientation, Tarcísio defended the reform proposal presented by the Minister of Finance, Fernando Haddad (PT) – and his support was considered fundamental for the approval of the text by the deputies. The day before the vote, he participated in a meeting of the PL and was even interrupted by the former president while justifying his position. He was also booed by some party members.

After the friction, the two resumed contact on Friday. “We are back to who we were before. Everything 100%, positive conversation”, said Bolsonaro, in an interview with the CNN channel. This Sunday, Tarcísio confirmed that the tone of the reunion was friendly: “The conversation was excellent”.