SP: Departure of Salles generates dispute on the right for city hall – 06/11/2023 – Power

The withdrawal of federal deputy Ricardo Salles (PL-SP) from running for Mayor of São Paulo encouraged other right-wing names to fill the void in this field.

Since the former minister of Jair Bolsonaro (PL) announced that he was giving up the race, on Monday (5), other politicians have been considered as possible candidates or possible vice-presidents on the ticket of Mayor Ricardo Nunes (MDB).

The PL de Salles, although it raffled off the deputy to ally himself with Nunes, also tests Senator Marcos Pontes (SP) as a candidate for mayor. Likewise, MBL is considering launching deputy Kim Kataguiri (União Brasil-SP) and Novo should have former federal deputy Vinicius Poit in the dispute.

Salles’ departure, however, strengthens the mayor’s re-election candidacy, which is defended by the PL and PP leadership, in addition to having received gestures from Bolsonaro and governor Tarcísio de Freitas (Republicans) in recent days – which led to the former minister to step down. In exchange for support, the parties around Nunes fight for the runner-up spot on the ticket.

According to the mayor’s allies, the PL, the largest party in Nunes’ arc of alliances, is more likely to nominate a deputy. But the vacancy can also be of another acronym – and is claimed by PP, Republicans, PSDB and União Brasil.

All these parties have a common goal in the election in São Paulo: to defeat Guilherme Boulos (PSOL), who must run with PT support and is seen as a favorite among his opponents. The race should still have federal deputy Tabata Amaral (PSB) as a candidate.

In the PL, lawyer Fabio Wajngarten, Bolsonaro’s former secretary of Social Communication and close to the former president, emerges as a vice option.

Wajngarten shares the view of the PL president, Valdemar Costa Neto, and the PP president, Ciro Nogueira, that a right-wing candidate would not be able to win in São Paulo, a city with a progressive electorate that gave victory to Lula (PT) and Fernando Haddad (PT) in 2022.

For this reason, the attempt is to reconcile Bolsonarism and a candidate seen as from the center, like Nunes. In the opinion of Salles’ allies, the mayor is not accepted by Bolsonarist militancy because he is not fully aligned with the former president, but, to avoid Boulos, he can benefit from the useful vote of the right.

The reading around Boulos is that the association with Bolsonarism could harm Nunes electorally —due to the São Paulo native’s rejection of the former president and the right-wing friendly fire against the mayor, as happened in Celso Russomanno’s campaign ( Republicans) in 2020.

Interlocutors from Salles also believe that Valdemar, Tarcísio and Wajngarten endeavored to convince Bolsonaro that launching a Bolsonarist name would not be viable and that the best chance of defeating the leftist candidate is through Nunes’ reelection.

Despite the public break with Valdemar, Salles does not consider leaving the PL for the time being. Nor does he want to engage in a mayoral campaign in a minor party.

Another name that started to circulate as an option for Nunes’ deputy is that of state deputy Delegado Olim (PP-SP). During the week, the congressman reiterated his support for the mayor’s re-election.

According to people from the surrounding area, Olim would be an interesting alternative for Nunes due to his connection with public security, at a time when the situation in Cracolândia is getting worse again. The parliamentarian was a delegate of the Civil Police and maintains dialogue with the segment.

The deputy avoided taking the initiative to introduce himself. The impression behind the scenes is that he wants to leave the party free to decide whether or not to go ahead with the idea. Olim, however, is willing to take on the task, if there is an agreement around his name.

In Republicans, state deputy Tomé Abduch, deputy leader of the Tarcísio government, is mentioned as a vice option. União Brasil seeks vice-president based on the alliance between Nunes and the mayor, Milton Leite (União Brasil), while PSDB claims the post as retribution, since Nunes inherited the chair from Bruno Covas (PSDB).

Among those rehearsing the candidacy for mayor, Pontes is discredited even by supporters of the PL, who see him as a trial balloon for Valdemar.

Poit, on the other hand, was encouraged by the departure of Salles, as shown by the column Panel, from the Sheet.

“I am analyzing with the party what our position will be on a candidacy for mayor of São Paulo. We believe that there is a greater space with the departure of Salles and that we can represent the ideals of those who believe in a center-right project, with dialogue and respect for São Paulo to prosper”, said the representative of Novo.

The MBL maintains discussions about launching Kataguiri, but says that the final decision should be taken in the second half. União Brasil, however, is now in Nunes’ alliance, which creates an imbroglio.

“The time has not yet come for us to decide,” Kataguiri told the report on Wednesday (7).