Secretary of Tarcísio decides to join the PP of Lira – 08/14/2023 – Power

The secretary of the Civil House of São Paulo, Arthur Lima, right arm of Governor Tarcísio de Freitas (Republicans), decided that he will join the PP next Thursday (17th), during a party event in the capital.

The affiliation, which was settled, was even called into question and a postponement was considered, as shown in the Panel column, from the Sheet. The question was whether this would be the best moment for a secretary seen as a technician to enter the political field.

Responsible for releasing amendments, agreements and positions, Arthur Lima is a central figure in the Tarcísio government. Therefore, his entry into the PP had to be agreed with other grassroots parties. The secretary told interlocutors that he will not use the position to favor his own acronym, a practice that he attributes to “old politics”.

Arthur Lima’s affiliation is, according to members of the PP, a way of balancing the participation of the main parties of Tarcísio’s base in power —since the Republicans own the Palácio dos Bandeirantes, the PL commands the Legislative Assembly and Gilberto’s PSD Kassab, is at the head of important secretariats, such as the Government.

Centrão leaders complain that Kassab, as Secretary of Government, has acted to attract mayors to his party and, therefore, also seek to strengthen his bloc.

The PP gains a strong membership in the state in the right field while it is about to occupy a ministry in the Lula (PT) government. Arthur Lima’s allies consider that the possible appointment of Deputy André Fufuca (PP-MA) as minister is an individual move by the parliamentarian and does not correspond to an indication of the acronym.

It is the same situation with the Republicans, who are also negotiating a ministry with Lula, which made Tarcísio, a PT opponent, say that he is evaluating whether he will remain in the party or not.

The dispute between Tarcísio’s base parties over Arthur Lima’s affiliation caused a stir — the secretary even received an invitation from the São Paulo governor’s association.

This Monday (14), however, Tarcísio met with the president of the PP, former minister Ciro Nogueira, and gave his endorsement for the secretary’s affiliation. Also this Monday, Ciro, Arthur Lima and the president of the PP in São Paulo, deputy Maurício Neves, had a meeting to settle the details of the affiliation.

According to Neves, Arthur Lima and some mayors from the interior will be affiliated during the inauguration of the new headquarters of the PP in the capital, an event that should bring together 35 deputies and 5 senators.

“The PP is focused on growth in the state, in municipal directorates. We have a leading role in Brasília, but there is still room to advance in São Paulo in terms of capillarity and leadership,” Neves told the Sheet. The legend, which won about 30 prefectures in the state in 2020, already has around 40 and wants to reach 80 or 100 in 2024.

Asked about the PP’s rapprochement with Lula, Neves says that, in the Southeast and South, the acronym will remain in opposition to the PT, while parliamentarians from the North and Northeast, like Fufuca, are part of the president’s support base.

“Today the party, the vast majority of the party, will not join the government,” he says.

PP parliamentarians claim that Ciro has been firm in his opposition to Lula and point out Tarcísio as a good option for the right in the 2026 presidential election, considering the ineligibility of Jair Bolsonaro (PL).