Republicans say they will not join Lula’s base – 09/07/2023 – Power

The Republicans informed in a statement that the party will remain independent and will not be part of President Lula’s (PT) support base, even with the announcement that deputy Sílvio Costa Filho (PE) will be Minister of Ports and Airports.

Furthermore, he informed that the parliamentarian will have to take a leave of absence from his party duties to take up the position.

“The Republicans publicly reiterate, once again, that they will not be part of Lula’s government base and will continue to act independently”, says the text.

According to the party, Sílvio’s appointment to the ministry “is exclusively a personal and direct invitation from President Lula to the parliamentarian”. The deputy will replace Minister Márcio França, who will move to the Micro and Small Business portfolio.

The note states that, upon accepting the PT member’s invitation, Sílvio must take leave not only from the position of federal deputy, but also from his party functions, both as party president in Pernambuco and as first treasurer in the national executive of the Republicans.

Although it negotiated entry into the government, the party was part of the Jair Bolsonaro (PL) government and supported his candidacy for re-election. Furthermore, there are parliamentarians on the bench in Congress who are strongly linked to the former president, such as Senator Damares Alves (DF) and Senator General Mourão (RS).

The note from the Republicans was released after minister Márcio França stated on social media that the president is taking the governor of São Paulo, Tarcísio de Freitas (Republicans), and his party to support the government with the nomination of the member of the party for the position of minister.

A Sheetafter the September 7th parade, França said that his post on social media on the topic was not a criticism, but a call for responsibility, since now the governor, in his view, is part of the Lula government’s base.

As shown to Sheetboth the leadership of the Republicans and the commands of the PP and the Republicans seek to maintain bridges with Bolsonarism even with representatives in the Lula government.

The strategy is to leave doors open with both political camps waiting to see what the best course of action will be, keeping an eye on the elections and the correlation of forces in Congress.

PP and Republicans formally integrated the Bolsonaro government’s support base. Both acronyms, however, have wings that have aligned themselves with Lula since last year’s presidential campaign.

In public, senator Ciro Nogueira (PI), who heads the PP, and deputy Marcos Pereira (SP), who presides over the Republicans, classify the parties as right-wing. The two always stated that the acronyms would remain independent.

Nogueira, who was once allied with the PT, now states that, until the end of his days, he will never join the party again.

Both, however, endorsed the making of agreements that will take their two deputies to the Esplanada dos Ministérios. The expectation is that, like Sílvio, Fufuca will also take a leave of absence from his party duties.