Federal deputy Ricardo Salles should not have the support of Tarcísio de Freitas for the city of São Paulo| Photograph:

Federal deputy for the PL and former minister Ricardo Salles said he wants to run for mayor of São Paulo in the municipal elections of 2024. But, this should depend on the deputy’s ability to find a party that supports his candidacy. That’s because, so far, the PL tends to support the re-election of the current mayor Ricardo Nunes (MDB).

“If I have a caption, there is no doubt that I will be a candidate for mayor in 2024”, said Salles to the column Panel, of the newspaper Folha de S.Paulo.

Salles was Minister of the Environment during the administration of former President Jair Bolsonaro. Last year, he said his accomplishments were eclipsed by a miscommunication strategy.

Salles has a history in São Paulo. He ran for the state legislature in 2005 but was not elected. He gained his first position in 2013, when he became private secretary to then-Governor Geraldo Alckmin. In 2016, Salles took over the Secretary of the Environment of the São Paulo government.

The current governor of São Paulo, Tarcísio de Freitas (Republicans), was also a minister in the Bolsonaro government. However, he would also be inclined to support Ricardo Nunes – who supported his election last year.