Marta-Boulos is a setback for Nunes and an obstacle for Tabata – 01/10/2024 – Power

The left’s attempt to win the mayorship of the country’s largest city for the fourth time in history gained a new chapter at the beginning of 2024.

Marta Suplicy’s (no party) acceptance of President Lula’s (PT) invitation to be vice-president on Guilherme Boulos’ (PSOL) ticket not only affects the federal deputy’s pre-candidacy, but also that of his main competitor, the mayor Ricardo Nunes (MDB), and that of the other candidate on the leftmost spectrum, Tabata Amaral (PSB).

The decision by Marta, who led the São Paulo executive from 2001 to 2004 and still maintains electoral capital in the city, crystallizes Lula’s intention to prioritize the dispute for São Paulo in October.

In no other city in the country did he make such explicit moves. Firstly, he disarmed any PT resistance to having its own candidate in the capital of São Paulo, an unprecedented feat in the party’s history.

Afterwards, he gave a direct message to vice-president Geraldo Alckmin (PSB) saying that the two cannot be on different platforms in the São Paulo election.

Now, she seals the vice position, paving the way for the former mayor’s return to the party with which she had broken in 2015.

All this after successive statements by Mayor Ricardo Nunes that he trusted Marta to remain on his team — she took over as Secretary of International Relations of São Paulo during the administration of Bruno Covas (1980-2021), from the PSDB.

Nunes is still balancing between whether or not she is Jair Bolsonaro’s (PL) candidate — who, up and down, expresses her appreciation for another name, her former minister Ricardo Salles (PL).

The care is explained, among other reasons, by the fact that Lula beat Bolsonaro in the city of São Paulo by a greater difference than the national one, in addition to Fernando Haddad (PT) having defeated Tarcísio de Freitas (Republicans) in the capital, unlike the occurred in the state as a whole.

A Datafolha survey in August also showed that 68% of voters in São Paulo said they would not vote under any circumstances for a name nominated by Bolsonaro. With Lula, rejection drops by almost half, 37%.

Regarding the October dispute itself, the Datafolha survey showed Boulos with 32% of voting intentions, followed by Nunes, with 24%, Tabata, with 11%, and federal deputy Kim Kataguiri (União Brasil), with 8%. .

The PSB candidate’s most notable move in recent times was the announcement of presenter José Luís Datena’s affiliation with the party, to form its ticket.

The ceremony held in Brasília, in December, took place the day before Lula spoke to Alckmin during a ministerial meeting, about the two not being able to be on different platforms.

In addition to pressure from Lula, who has the PSB as his deputy and in his government — including Márcio França, minister of Micro and Small Businesses and main leader of the PSB in São Paulo —, the Tabata-Datena alliance suffers from distrust over the disposition of the presenter to actually enter politics.

Completing a dozen parties in less than ten years, Datena is rehearsing for the fifth time a candidacy for an elected position. On all previous occasions, he backed out at the last minute.

Members of the PSB state that they will maintain Tabata’s candidacy and that they are betting on the speech of renewal and new proposals for the city, in addition to stating that the political impact of Marta’s membership may not result in an electoral impact, especially because the leader of the party it will be Boulos, not her.

On the PT side, the expectation is that the former mayor and Lula will play a fundamental role in the campaign, minimizing the impact of the party not having, for the first time, a candidate for the position.

Marta’s name also helps Boulos, they say, in the attempt for the leader of the MTST (Homeless Workers Movement) to become more palatable to sectors outside the left spectrum. Marta was, for example, one of those responsible for leading Simone Tebet (MDB) to support Lula in the second round, in 2022.

The problem that has already become clear in the internal circuits is that Marta will have to focus on defending her achievements in the city hall, not being able to join the front line of attack on Nunes, for the obvious reason of having participated in her administration.

Regarding Tabata, they say they don’t see space for a third way in the city, but they measure their steps and words, especially because they count on her support and voters in a possible second round.

The PT commanded São Paulo with Luiza Erundina (1989-1992) —in her time there was no re-election—, Marta (2001-2004) and Fernando Haddad (2013-2016). The last two tried for re-election, but were defeated by José Serra (PSDB) and João Doria (PSDB), respectively.