Pernambuco: Raquel Lyra caresses Lula and alliance with PL – 03/31/2023 – Politics

The beginning of Governor Raquel Lyra’s (PSDB) mandate is marked in Pernambuco by a dichotomy in political conduct. At the same time that she has an intense dialogue with the Lula government, the manager has allied herself with the PL, the party of former president Jair Bolsonaro.

Raquel was elected in the second round of the 2022 elections with the change speech, in addition to promising that she would act in partnership with the president who was elected to govern Brazil, whether Lula or Bolsonaro. She declared neutrality in the final stage of the Planalto dispute.

One of the outstanding episodes in the relationship with Lula happened last week, when the president came out in defense of Raquel after part of his supporters and nursing professionals booed the governor during an event in Recife.

“The governor may be our political opponent, but she is the governor of the state. She was elected and I will respect her as governor,” said Lula.

“Here I will come as many times as necessary to take care of the interests of the people of Pernambuco through her hands, through the hands of João [Campos, prefeito do Recife] and by the hands of the other mayors, because that is how the spirit of everything we build in the democracy of this country governs”, he added.

Earlier, the president stood and stood beside the governor during her speech. The gesture was a sign of solidarity amid the boos of Raquel from the audience. On the same day, the two signed the shared management agreement for Fernando de Noronha.

A week later, Raquel met with leaders of the federation of rural workers and farmers linked to the PT.

In 2022, the Bolsonaro government filed a lawsuit with the STF for the Union to regain control of the archipelago. The new contract was negotiated between the state and federal governments and approved by Minister Ricardo Lewandowski, of the STF (Federal Supreme Court), in Recife.

Despite Lula having said that Raquel is his political opponent, the PT is not part of the opposition to the governor in the state. The party, together with PC do B and PV (which form a triple federation), declared independence, but senator Humberto Costa (PT-PE) publicly demanded a position of the party “not to stay on top of the fence”.

Three weeks ago, the toucana was in Brasilia at the invitation of the federal government to participate in the launch ceremony of a program to confront and prevent violence against women. Raquel sat on the stage of the ceremony at the Planalto Palace, next to Lula.

In the speech, the governor delivered speeches in line with the PT’s thoughts on public safety.

“With integrated work, it is possible to change reality. Look at social urbanism, prevention, professional qualification, schools that welcome children and give a new dream. It is not easy. It is easier to arm a citizen, the easy speech instead of the facing what is structural.”

Armamentism is one of the main flags of Bolsonarism. Even so, Raquel sealed an alliance with the PL in the Government of Pernambuco. The party is chaired in the state by the former mayor of Jaboatão dos Guararapes Anderson Ferreira.

Anderson was a candidate for governor in 2022 and ended up third in the race. He did not publicly support Raquel in the second round, although the toucan had support from part of Bolsonarista’s supporters.

Anderson made indications of coveted positions in the state administration and enlisted allies in the presidencies of the Detran (State Department of Transit) and in charge of the executive secretary of Justice and Promotion of Consumer Rights. The state Secretary of Education, Ivaneide Dantas, commanded the sector, previously in Jaboatão, stronghold of Bolsonarism.

The state government also articulated the change in the leadership of the PL in the Legislative Assembly to guarantee control in the presidency of committees in the House. State deputy Alberto Feitosa was removed from his post and replaced by Nino de Enoque, with the approval of the majority of his five colleagues.

Feitosa is from the wing of the PL that is critical of the Tucano government. He is part of the political group that includes Bolsonaro’s former Minister of Tourism Gilson Machado Neto, who was defeated for the Senate in 2022.

Gilson Machado’s allies prefer to maintain independence. The group wants to promote a PL candidacy for Mayor of Recife, while those around Anderson Ferreira are considering signing an alliance with a moderate name supported by the governor to face Mayor João Campos (PSB), Lula’s ally.

Anderson Ferreira’s appointments in Raquel’s government generated criticism from the opposition.

“Raquel Lyra, who had already handed the Education Department over to Bolsonarism, now leaves the Detran, with the gate closed, in the hands of representatives of the genocide and his party. , give it here’. Neutral is baby soap”, wrote former deputy Marília Arraes (Solidariedade), defeated by Raquel in the second round of 2022.

Political appointments to the government were unblocked in March, after the governor chose to assemble the first echelon of the government with practically all the indications of her choice, but there is still dissatisfaction on the part of the benches in the Assembly, such as União Brasil and PP, who want more space.

Out of power after 16 years, the PSB is mostly in the opposition, but at least 6 (out of a total of 13 deputies) who joined by electoral calculation or supported Raquel in the second round intend to stay in the government’s base.

The PSB ceded the leadership of the opposition to the PSOL, which has only one deputy. The two parties form the bloc together, despite the fact that PSOL has been critical of the governments of the now opposition partner.

The former mayor of Petrolina Miguel Coelho (União Brasil), who was a candidate for governor and supported Raquel Lyra in the second round, was not contemplated in the Government of Pernambuco. He is the son of former senator Fernando Bezerra Coelho (MDB), leader of the political group.

Miguel Coelho has told allies, however, that he supported the governor without compensation.