Lira waves left and right to escape the “valley of the forgotten”

In another week of intense political articulations in Brasília, the president of the Chamber of Deputies, Arthur Lira (PP-AL), once again maneuvered with an eye on his political future. He made nods to both the right and the left, since in February 2025 he will have to hand over command of the House and he wants his successor to be a political ally, according to sources heard by the People’s Gazette.

Lira also doesn’t want to run the risk of falling into the “valley of the forgotten”. For him, in addition to being essential to find a successor to lead Parliament’s work, it is important to guarantee a prominent place in the political scene after the end of his presidency. After so much prestige and power at the head of the Chamber of Deputies, articulating and leading the agenda in accordance with the interests of both the government and the Centrão parties, which he himself leads, Lira cannot and does not want to return to being a deputy without influence and power.

To this end, the parliamentarian from Alagoas has been moving towards all possible fronts. Lira has claimed to be “right-wing”, but considered. This is because, as president of the Chamber, he needs to be impartial. In recent days, he had dinner with former president Jair Bolsonaro (PL) – with whom he had already had breakfast at the beginning of 2024, in Alagoas -, and with the governor of São Paulo, Tarcísio de Freitas (Republicanos-SP ).

But, in parallel, the president of the Chamber was also at the popular and well-attended birthday party of one of the most influential names in Lula’s Workers’ Party to date: the former Minister of the Civil House José Dirceu, who had a lot of power in the PT governments. previous ones.

Arthur Lira wants to appoint a successor as president of the Chamber and seeks support

Although there are still ten months to go before the election for the presidency of the Chamber of Deputies, Lira – who has been in charge of Parliament for two terms – does not hide his intention of placing someone with the same profile to succeed him.

Lira’s favorite, according to interlocutors and deputies closest to him, is the current leader of União Brasil, Elmar Nascimento, from Bahia. The two are friends, they were even on vacation together during the parliamentary recess in the middle of last year, when they embarked on a sea cruise with shows by singer Wesley Safadão. They also enjoyed the Bel Marques block together at the Salvador carnival, last month.

Elmar would have as his main competitor to succeed Lira the president of the Republicans, Marcos Pereira, from São Paulo, who is vice-president of the House and has approached Planalto on some occasions when he replaced Lira. Pereira would also have the possible support of a large number of parliamentarians from the evangelical bench, of which he is a member.

The names of Antônio Brito (PSD-BA), Isnaldo Bulhões (MDB-BA), Aguinaldo Ribeiro (PP-PB), among others, also appear.

It is in this scenario that Arthur Lira tries to stay on the surface of power. Therefore, as he told the People’s Gazette a deputy linked to Lira, under anonymity, he has shown himself to be so “eclectic”, referring to the President of the Chamber’s recent meetings with members of both the PL and the PT.

Regarding recent agendas, Lira said that he was elected president of the Chamber of Deputies, for the second time in 2023, with votes from all parties, and that it is therefore natural for him to talk to everyone. At the same time, after a relationship between “slaps and kisses” with the Planalto, with harsh criticism – mainly the political articulation made by Alexandre Padilha, from Institutional Relations -, Lira has avoided direct confrontations with Lula, who she poked at the return of legislative year, demanding compliance with agreements. It was a direct reference to President Lula’s vetoes of parliamentary amendments.

Deputies close to Lira consider that he could be invited to take on a ministry at Esplanada when he leaves the presidency of the Chamber, or even try to take a path towards the Federal Senate, where in 2026 he would face political rival Renan Calheiros (MDB-AL).

Analysts say Lira is making moves to ensure she stays in power

The CEO of the Ranking of Politicians, Juan Carlos Arruda, says that it is natural that Arthur Lira is currently working to avoid political stagnation, after the end of two terms as president of the Chamber of Deputies. According to the analyst, it seems that Lira could even seek a seat in the Senate in 2026, but until then she will have to guarantee a place in the sun.

“Until we reach 2026, there is still a way to go. Given the notable rapprochement between the president of the Chamber and the federal government, there is the possibility that Lira will be appointed minister under President Lula”, pointed out Arruda.

Political Science professor Adriano Cerqueira, from Ibmec in Belo Horizonte, believes that, in addition to Brasília, Lira is aware of the political influence he has in his home state, Alagoas, where he disputes power and prestige directly with senator Renan Calheiros (MDB ), and against who may run for the Senate seat in the 2026 general elections.

Lira’s political activities in Brasília also directly target the situation of allies and rivals in Alagoas, according to Cerqueira, as the current president of the Chamber may choose to run for government of Alagoas in 2026 – another possibility that opens up beyond the Senate .

Therefore, the analyst assesses that it would not be any ministry in the Lula government that would catch Arthur Lira’s eyes. For the Ibmec professor, it would be more interesting for Lira to become the successor to the presidency of the Chamber and try to secure a position on the Board of Directors. This way, he would strengthen himself and could emerge as a future candidate for governor of Alagoas.

“If he manages to make his successor, and everything indicates that he does, the chance of having a winning candidacy that is not aligned with the left is very high,” said the political scientist.

Furthermore, Cerqueira says that Lira’s political future also depends on the 2024 municipal elections and the Progressistas’ results at the polls.