PP and União Brasil have a regional barrier to sign an agreement – 07/03/2023 – Power

The agreement for the creation of the federation between the PP and the União Brasil stalled amid the difficulties of the leaders in resolving disputes over the command of regional directories in at least seven states.

The stalemate should also take Avante out of the federation. The party wanted the command of the directory of Minas Gerais, but began to suffer resistance. According to a member of the party, the chance of the party moving forward with the federation project is almost nil.

Members of the PP and União Brasil list a series of obstacles for the combination of parties to take place. Despite the long period of negotiation, disagreements prevail and some members of the legends see little chance for the alliance to prosper.

However, a part of the PP and the Union and leaders involved in the negotiations still claim that everything will be resolved in the dialogue and that the federation will be created, with or without an agreement in the states.

“It’s progressing. We close in 15 days,” he told Sheet Deputy Elmar Nascimento (União Brasil-BA).

If the federation is formed, PP and União Brasil would assemble a supergroup of 108 deputies — surpassing the PL (today with 99 deputies) and the federation of PT, PC do B and PV, which adds up to 81. If Avante decides to join PP and União, would be 115 members.

This agreement would increase the firepower of the two parties in Congress and in the relationship with the government, such as the discussions on the House committees. However, this would also generate some obligations considered uncomfortable.

The law that created the party federations was validated last Wednesday (9) by the STF (Supreme Federal Court), which set the deadline of May 31 for the acronyms to unite this year.

In party federations, parties that join are obliged to act in a unitary manner at least for the four years following the elections, at the federal, state and municipal levels. Failure to comply with this rule may result in penalties.

The main difficulties are in the states of Maranhão, Minas Gerais, Pernambuco, Rio de Janeiro, Paraíba, Paraná and São Paulo.

The criterion that was defined to resolve regional obstacles involves handing over the state directory to the most influential political group locally.

In states where the governor is affiliated with one of the two parties, the group allied with the head of the state executive must take precedence in defining the president of the directory.

In regions where the federation does not have a governor, precedence will be defined by the number of senators. If there is a tie, the last criterion will be the number of deputies elected in the state.

The criterion does not please influential politicians in Congress who may lose space regionally with the federation.

In Paraíba, for example, União Brasil would be in charge of the directory. The state elected Senator Efraim Filho in 2022. But the political group of federal deputy Aguinaldo Ribeiro (PP-PB) does not accept losing local influence and the possibility of launching candidacies for the 2024 municipal elections.

In Pernambuco, the national president of União Brasil, Luciano Bivar, disputes the regional directory with the groups of Mendonça Filho (União Brasil) and Dudu da Fonte (PP).

In Paraná, the federation is resisted by Senator Sergio Moro (União Brasil) and Deputy Pedro Lupion (PP), who coordinates the ruralist group in Congress. There is still resistance in the Union with the name of Ricardo Barros (PP), the main candidate to command the directory.

Moro has told allies that, for the time being, he would stay in União Brasil because the caption allows parliamentarians to be in opposition to the government. But the federation can change this agreement made with the former Lava Jato judge.

The difficulties in reaching an agreement on the federation between the PP and União Brasil were discussed during a trip by the mayor, Arthur Lira (PP), the president of the PP, Ciro Nogueira (PI), and the vice-president of União Brasil , Antonio Rueda.

The trio was reunited in Las Vegas, in the United States, during Carnival week. They visited some casinos in the region, according to reports from allies.

Lira, Ciro and Rueda are enthusiasts of the parties’ alliance and, according to interlocutors, they advanced with discussions about the presidency of the federation during the trip. The idea is that the leadership of the party will be interspersed for a certain period between the two political groups.

If confirmed, the expectation is that the federation will be called Progressive Union.

Politicians critical of the federation, however, have said that the possible deals closed during the trip were not communicated to the parliamentarians of both parties.

União Brasil has three ministries on the Esplanada of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT). The PP maintains its position of independence, but, according to party members, it tends to adhere to the government when political negotiations advance with the Planalto Palace.

Members of the União Brasil hope that, if the federation’s negotiation is unblocked, the party will guarantee the nomination of the rapporteur for the 2024 Budget – the first in the Lula 3 administration.

The party is the result of the merger between PSL and DEM. Therefore, it already coexists with internal divergences.

With the federation, the acronym and the PP may, together, have more power to claim strategic positions in Congress, such as reports on important projects for the Planalto.