João Campos defends partnership between Lula and Lira – 07/22/2023 – Politics

The mayor of Recife, João Campos (PSB), defended in an interview with Sheet a partnership between President Lula (PT) and the President of the Chamber of Deputies, Arthur Lira (PP-AL).

Lula’s ally, João Campos is also close to Lira and says he sees a mini-ministerial reform in the government as natural, which is being articulated in Brasília, to expand the allied base in Congress.

“I know Lula and Arthur Lira and I think that the two have total capacity to build a great political partnership in favor of Brazil. If we pacify politics, it stops taking energy from Brazil and offers a solution, as it was in the Tax Reform.”

In São Paulo, João Campos defends dialogue between Guilherme Boulos (PSOL) and Tabata Amaral (PSB), possible pre-candidates for São Paulo City Hall and who are part of the base of the Lula government, but says that it is up to the deputy —who is his girlfriend— to speak for her political project.

In Recife, the mayor says he hopes to have Lula on his podium in his quest for re-election.

What is your assessment of the beginning of the Lula government?
The president took over at a time when he needed to rebuild the country on several fronts. We saw a real dismantling in the Bolsonaro government. In education, for example, the minister only appeared in conflict or scandal. What was the health and social development agenda? Did not have.

Lula launched an integral education plan, to recompose the transfer of meals. The federative dialogue returned, and programs such as Farmácia Popular and Bolsa Família were relaunched with important conditionalities such as vaccination and school enrollment.

The president paved the way for the country’s economic activity and fiscal balance and now comes up with an investment and infrastructure plan. Doing all that in six months is a lot.

What did the Lula government do poorly and can improve?
It is a government with much more successes. Eventual points to be improved are much smaller than the set of hits.

The political articulation of the government faced instabilities, including in votes in Congress. Is the PSB satisfied with the management of this area?
Political articulation consolidates over time. What I defend is that there is a harmonious alignment between the president and Congress, especially the Chamber. I know Lula and Arthur Lira and I think that the two of them are fully capable of building a great political partnership in favor of Brazil. If we pacify politics, it stops taking energy from Brazil and offers a solution, as it was in the Tax Reform.

Does this pacification go through a ministerial mini-reform?
I think it’s natural, every government has adjustments over time. Assembly on the final stretch always has consolidation movements. Some moves may have been made before with correct analysis and then it is natural that there is a reassessment taking into account the technical process and the political process. These are punctual and non-structural things.

Mr. cited the Tax Reform, which generated wear and tear for the governor of São Paulo, Tarcísio de Freitas, in the Bolsonarist field, for defending it. Do you believe that this shudder could have an impact on the articulation of the right for the 2026 elections and eventually benefit the governing group?
Tarcísio made a correct move from Brazil. Historically, São Paulo has worked to avoid the Tax Reform, which taxes at source, and São Paulo produces a lot. This is a historical matter for the state, not for a politician. In general, you make the extremum smaller. It’s positive for our field, but also for the center field. This strident extreme does not dialogue and is against the institutions, Brazil is not like that. My assessment is that the conflict within the right is positive for Tarcísio.

Does the PSB plan to have a candidate for Planalto in 2026 if Lula does not run for re-election?
Our project is in line with President Lula’s. The political coordination of this process will be done by him. And any kind of discussion will take place internally.

How do you evaluate the role of Vice President Geraldo Alckmin (PSB)?
Positively. He is very correct and loyal. He is a good ally. Lula knows he can count on him and on his correction. As a minister, she has also helped in dialogue with the productive sector.

Deputy Tabata Amaral (PSB-SP) recently pointed out frustration with the government because of the transfers of amendments by the rapporteur and in relation to the way President Lula received the Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro. Do you agree with her?
Tabata has been very loyal to Lula, he was on the front line during the election campaign. The good ally is the one who knows he is a partner and correct and who is able to evaluate points that can be improved. About Venezuela, the president himself has already spoken about it. I personally have real disagreements about what happens there, but what happens in Venezuela is a case of Venezuela and is far from what I expect for any country, including Brazil. And you cannot refuse to have a relationship with a country even if you have disagreements about its system.

In the 2020 elections, PT did not win for capital city halls and saw the number of cities it governed decrease. For 2024, Mr. Do you think that the effect of Lula, now president, can benefit the party and its allies?
Lula is a big voter in Brazil and in the Northeast. But the elections will not be built by a single factor, there are a number of factors. I hope to count on him in my campaign [à reeleição]. It will be very good if we have the forces that are aligned in Brazil together in the states and municipalities.

Does your argument to unite apply to São Paulo with Guilherme Boulos (PSOL-SP) and Tabata Amaral? Or does the PSB have no chance of giving up the candidacy?
I think that dialogue should always exist, but each location has a particularity. Here, we govern Recife, there [em São Paulo] it is different, where there is an opponent from our group ruling. These are particularities that must be taken into account. Tabata who will speak for her. It is not outside São Paulo that São Paulo will be discussed. Our role here is to take care of Recife.

The PT wants, behind the scenes, to indicate a name as deputy on its ticket. What criteria does Mr. will adopt to fill this vacancy?
Any kind of electoral discussion will only open in 2024. Electoral discussion does not help now. It’s time to take care of the city.

Is there a chance that the PT will place the vice-presidential candidate?
Majority election is given by the set of forces. One does not make a decision alone or as a whole. Usually it is: which path adds more and gathers more? What narrative is accepted and validated? It is a collective thesis that will be built next year.

If mr. is re-elected, do you intend to run for the 2026 election for the Government of Pernambuco?
Today, my focus is not election, it’s management. Next year, my focus in the election will be Recife.

And if re-elected, will he complete his term?
From here to being re-elected, the path is very long.

There have been some recent clashes between the City Hall of Recife and the Government of Pernambuco, as in the dispute over the management of a care center for the elderly. Is this relationship at the right level?
I defend and practice dialogue. I’m not one of those people who waste time fighting, but I know how to defend the interests of the people of Recife. Unfortunately, I am having to go to court to open a health service. It’s an unprecedented thing. We even put it into operation and, due to a lawsuit filed by the state government, it was closed. I’m struggling to reopen.

What is your assessment of the beginning of the government of Raquel Lyra (PSDB)?
It’s not for me to assess. I think it’s up to the population.

Mr. assessed Lula when we asked. Why not evaluate the Raquel government?
I feel comfortable evaluating Lula, because he is doing an excellent job, and since he is an ally, I feel part of it. It is the people who are responsible for evaluating the state government. People can evaluate if there is an increase in violence, if there is a hospital closure, if there is a fight to prevent Recife from opening a health unit, if there is a stoppage of works that have been taking place, if there is a rescission of agreements with municipalities in the state, it is the people who evaluate.

What are your management priorities for the period up to the 2024 election?
My main priority is the construction of a less unequal and fairer city. My desire is to have the administration that most invested in education in the history of Recife and in social infrastructure. We will have a slope containment work in each location on the hill. It never existed. In education, we are going to double the vacancies in day care centers. There were 7,000 and we’re going to 14,000. There are 160 schools under construction at the same time. This is doing it for education.

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X-RAY | Joao Henrique de Andrade Lima Campos, 29

Mayor of Recife, he is the second national vice-president of the PSB. Graduated in civil engineering from UFPE (Federal University of Pernambuco), he was a federal deputy from 2019 to 2020, when he was elected mayor of Recife. He is the son of the former governor of Pernambuco Eduardo Campos (1965-2014)