PT frustrates Lira and postpones definition of election in the Chamber – 10/15/2024 – Power

The PT bench in the Chamber of Deputies is not expected to declare support for any candidate to succeed Arthur Lira (PP-AL) as president of the House at this time — the trend today is for no announcement to be made before the second round of municipal elections.

The decision frustrates the expectations of the President of the House, who is in a hurry to resolve the dispute and had been declaring behind the scenes that he hoped for an outcome to the issue.

The bench met this Tuesday afternoon (15) and still does not have a unanimous position on which candidate it will support. According to reports from meeting participants, on one side there are deputies who defend a choice and announcement right now. On the other hand, parliamentarians ask that no decision be taken hastily.

Despite this, there is an assessment among some PT members that it is necessary to follow a path of convergence, to avoid internal friction in the base of support for the federal government in the Chamber and a confrontation with Lira.

The PT is considered the “finger in the balance” in the election of the Board of Directors, with the three candidates in the running fighting to attract the support of Lula’s party.

Today, leaders Hugo Motta (Republicanos-PB), Elmar Nascimento (União Brasil-BA) and Antonio Brito (PSD-BA) are in the dispute — the last two have entered into an alliance in the dispute. The three parties are part of the PT base and have representatives on the Esplanada.

PT leader in the Chamber, Odair Cunha (MG), said after the meeting that “possibly” the party’s decision will only be taken after the end of the municipal elections, but avoided setting a deadline.

“Possibly after the second round. We are not going to set a deadline, because here the deadline is election day. Now, political convenience is what will determine the appropriate time and the process of building the bench.”

At another point, he stated that the decision will be made when the bench has sufficiently matured the issue. “It will be at the right time. Neither early nor late.”

Odair Cunha also said that the party is discussing which thesis it will follow: remaining in the “bloc” formed to re-elect Lira in 2023 (with all parties except Novo and PSOL) or whether the party will “produce a new bloc” in the House .

“In this thesis of permanence, we have a candidacy that signifies the convergence of these political forces, which is Hugo Motta. We are in a consultation process, we started this debate here at the House today and we are going to deepen it. We have time, time is coming our favor,” he said.

“Our general perception is that the majority of the bench tends towards the convergence candidacy. We do not want to intensify a dispute process here in the House. A fierce dispute is not good for the interests of the PT or the interests of the government”, he stated.

A new bench meeting is scheduled to take place on the 29th — the party executive will have one on the 28th. In addition, the party leader must look for the three candidates to organize meetings with PT deputies.

According to reports, there is a tendency for the federation of which the PT is part, with PV and PC do B, to have a unique position in the dispute for the Chamber. Together, the parties have 80 deputies.

Behind the scenes, Lira has stated since the beginning of the year that the PT was committed to supporting whoever it nominated for his succession. So far, however, there has been no decision, which has contributed to the successive delays in the President of the Chamber’s deadlines for publicly announcing his candidate.

How to Sheet showed, in September, Lula encouraged Elmar to remain in the race, which was understood by leaders from the center as a strategy by the President of the Republic to keep the election in a mess and, thus, increase his influence on the outcome.

On the other hand, there is a rush from Lira. His allies recognize that, with each passing day, he loses his power of influence among his colleagues. The deputy himself asked Lula for a gesture of support for Hugo Motta’s name.

Earlier this Tuesday, the executive of the PT bench (smaller group of deputies from the party) met for a first meeting. In it, parliamentarians also defended avoiding friction between the parties that make up Lula’s base. There is an assessment that internal fights can be harmful to governability.

Of the names put forward today, Motta is the favorite in the dispute. He is considered the name of convergence by parliamentarians because he has the support of Lira and the support of seven parties, including the PT and PL, although without official positions from the parties or the president of the Chamber himself.

He was thrust into the race after a turnaround, with the withdrawal of his party’s president, Marcos Pereira (Republicanos-SP). Previously, Elmar was considered the favorite to win Lira’s endorsement, as the two maintain a close friendship.

With the changes, Elmar broke with Lira and allied himself with Brito, considered the most pro-government name among the three. Their idea is to form a bloc allied with the Executive, without the participation of Jair Bolsonaro’s PL, to guarantee governability in the last two years of the PT member’s mandate.