Kassab under Tarcísio multiplies by 7 PSD mayors – 10/30/2023 – Power

The PSD, a party led by Gilberto Kassab, Government Secretary under Tarcísio de Freitas (Republicans), has multiplied the number of mayors in the state of São Paulo by seven since December 2022 — from 46 to 329.

This means that Kassab, who also has a good relationship with the Lula (PT) government, currently dominates 51% of the state’s 645 city halls. Considered a strong man in the Tarcísio administration, the president of the PSD is responsible for the relationship between Palácio dos Bandeirantes and mayors and deputies, in addition to controlling the transfer of amendments and agreements.

The mass movement of mayors starting in December reflects the main change in São Paulo politics since then — the end of the PSDB’s almost 30 years of power with the defeat of the toucan Rodrigo Garcia. In their place, PSD, Republicans, PP and PL rose.

During this period, the PSDB shrank from 238 mayors to 43. The party is going through a new crisis with the decision of the national executive, led by Eduardo Leite (PSDB), to suspend the state convention and interfere in the command of the São Paulo directory. The climate of conflagration is repeated nationally and in the capital of São Paulo.

A Sheet questioned other parties, in addition to PSD and PSDB, about their current number of mayors. The number of city halls for each party in December 2022 was obtained through the Regional Electoral Court of São Paulo.

Since last December, the Republicans, Tarcísio’s party, have also grown, but not in the proportion of the PSD — it went from 25 to 54 mayors, in other words, it practically doubled.

The second largest party in terms of number of mayors in São Paulo is the MDB, which went from 58 to 73. Jair Bolsonaro’s PL went from 39 to 56. The PP had 32 and now 42.

In addition to the PSDB, União Brasil, which was the main allied party of the tucanos in the state, also lost mayors: it had 75 and now 27.

In the opposition camp, PT and PSB maintained stability. The party of former governors Márcio França (PSB) and Geraldo Alckmin (PSB) has around ten mayors, as in December.

The PT members, in turn, have a historical difficulty among voters in the interior of São Paulo. In 2020, they elected only four mayors — a number that has not changed.

For party leaders interviewed by the report, the 2024 municipal election should change the situation, but the domination of parties from the center to the detriment of the PSDB is a scenario that should be consolidated.

Unlike councilors and deputies, mayors do not need to wait for the party window that precedes each election to change their party. Therefore, it is common for them to seek to join the government parties of the occasion.

The flow of mayors towards the PSD has generated complaints at the top of other parties in Tarcísio’s base, who see blackmail and intimidation on the part of Kassab. Behind the scenes, they claim that their members switch to the PSD with the promise of receiving more resources for their municipalities.

Among the mayors that Kassab has affiliated with in recent months are those from cities such as Bauru, Barretos, Mairiporã and Bertioga.

The secretary states that he does not engage in party politics at Palácio dos Bandeirantes and denies that there are any promises or benefits for mayors who join the PSD.

“The government’s service is republican, without distinction between parties. This increase in PSD mayors reflects a new political circumstance in the state of São Paulo. It was a change not of co-optation, but of tuning into the new winds of politics. Winds that have Tarcísio as a leader”, says Kassab.

Politicians interviewed by the report also point to an artificial growth of the PSDB in the final years of João Doria and Rodrigo Garcia’s administration. In 2020, the party elected 172 names, but the government sought new affiliations. PSD and PTB were the acronyms that lost the most mayors to the tucana machine between 2020 and 2022.

The president of the São Paulo PSDB, Marco Vinholi, was the Secretary of Regional Development at the time, performing a role similar to that of Kassab today, that is, controlling the flow of funds to the municipalities.

In 2021, Doria needed the vote of Tucano mayors in the state to defeat Eduardo Leite in the presidential elections, which gave rise to the race for members. The Gaucho’s campaign even denounced 51 irregular mayoral affiliations.

Wanted by Sheetthe president of the PSDB-Cidadania federation in the state, Paulo Serra, says that the moment is one of transition, that there is a positive outlook for the future and that the loss of mayors was expected.

“Of course, numerically the decrease is clear. Maybe it was a very big drop because the party also grew in some way in an artificial way. We have been working so that, from 2024 onwards, with good staff and candidates, we can start reversing this curve “, he states.

After the defeat of Rodrigo Garcia, who did not reach the second round despite the support of the majority of mayors, party leaders have pointed out that the number of representatives is not necessarily an advantage.

Leaders of acronyms such as Republicans, PP and even PSDB say that their objective is not to accumulate more and more city halls, but rather to maintain mayors who identify with the proposals and identity of the respective parties.

Bruno Silva, researcher at the Politics and Government Laboratory at Unesp Araraquara, says that one of the factors that explains the growth of the PSDB in previous years is the close relationship between then vice Rodrigo Garcia and mayors in the interior of the state — a vacuum that was occupied by Kassab .

For him, the increase in PSD mayors is linked to the party’s expansionist political project and Kassab’s control over the state coffers.

Lara Mesquita, political scientist and professor at FGV, states that the varied growth of parties is related to their different strategies.

She points out that the PL is the most attractive party for mayors who will contest the municipal election as it holds the majority of the electoral fund, but despite this, the PSD may have been more efficient in mobilization, offering access to state resources. The Republicans, she says, are a party that opts for organic growth, preferring to join only those who want to remain there.

Silva also points out that, for some mayors, the PSD may be more attractive than other base parties, such as PL and Republicans, “because it is within the state government, but is not associated with Bolsonarism.”

“The PSD is a prime ally in the Government of São Paulo, but it has all its doors open in Brasília, together with the federal government. This is also the case with the MDB, which has a municipalist vocation and reach”, he adds.