Tarcísio faces crises with political action in the background – 09/05/2023 – Politics

While he relegates his political activities to the background and seeks to escape controversy, the governor of São Paulo, Tarcísio de Freitas (Republicans), ended up surrounded by crises, dissatisfied allies and articulation problems that appeared in recent days.

Considered as an option on the right in 2026, if his godfather Jair Bolsonaro (PL) is ineligible, Tarcísio avoids putting himself on the platform in advance, as his predecessor João Doria did, and initially plans to run for re-election.

Although he is engaged in a delicate political maneuver, that of waving at the same time to Bolsonarism and to the center, the governor is more dedicated to management issues, such as works and concessions, than to articulation with parties and parliamentarians – something outsourced to the experienced Gilberto Kassab (PSD), Secretary of Government and Institutional Relations.

According to his assistants, the governor’s focus should be on delivering promises, which ends up fostering a political career anyway. Whenever he can, Tarcísio praises the technical character of his secretariat.

The tactic, however, is criticized by deputies and party leaders, who demand positions and influence in the government, in addition to Tarcísio’s more incisive stance in right-wing militancy and in political disputes — after all, his chair has national weight.

It did not go unnoticed among the Bolsonarist bench that the governor placed himself in the center-right camp at the Republicans convention, at the end of April. In an interview with GloboNews on the 2nd, he again claimed to be on the center right, but also identified himself as a Bolsonarist.

Interlocutors of the governor already predict that the election in the capital of São Paulo, next year, will force him to come down from the wall and choose between Ricardo Salles (PL) and Ricardo Nunes (MDB). Supporters of Salles point out that Tarcísio signaled that he will support the deputy, following Bolsonaro, but the Republicans support Nunes – which should create a fair skirt for the governor.

In the Legislative Assembly of São Paulo, which Tarcísio visited institutionally for the first time on May 2 (Doria made her first visit to the House in February), deputies say that there is a lack of dialogue, information on projects and government leadership.

So far, Tarcísio has not submitted projects that are difficult to approve, which require a robust base.

Even dissatisfied with Tarcísio behind the scenes, members of the PL and the Republicans claim that they will defend the São Paulo government in public, following Bolsonaro’s advice, who wants to protect his former minister from friendly fire.

Last week, the complaint was in relation to the government’s project to increase police salaries – a nod from Tarcísio to his electoral base. Before the performance of deputies from the bullet bench, the government’s idea was to send a single text to all categories.

In addition, allied deputies did not have access to the proposal and ended up surprised by the article that increases the contribution value of retirees. The bullet bench had to give an explanation to its voters and met with the governor, who promised to change the measure.

Still in the view of Bolsonarists, Tarcísio has been shy in attacking the Lula (PT) government and defending Bolsonaro. But, even hesitating to enter the political ring, the governor ends up hiring embarrassments, like last Wednesday (3).

On the day that Bolsonaro was the target of an action by the Federal Police on suspicion of tampering with the vaccine card, Tarcísio launched a program to combat corruption. At the end of the event, the governor left without speaking to the press – nor defended the former president on the networks.

Nor did he want to respond, on the 2nd, about the eventual resignation of secretary Lucas Ferraz, whose portfolio stated in a note that the Ukrainian company Antonov would have given up on an investment of US$ 50 billion in Brazil after Lula’s speeches about the war.

Days earlier, on Monday (1st), Tarcísio was next to Bolsonaro at Agrishow. The former president criticized the land demarcations made by Lula, and Tarcísio stated that land invaders will go to jail.

The expectation of Bolsonarist parliamentarians was that Tarcísio would travel to Ribeirão Preto (SP) the day before, on Sunday (30), to receive the former president at the airport and participate in the gathering of supporters, but the governor only attended the appointment of government at the agricultural fair.

On Saturday (6), Tarcísio also missed the PL Mulher event, with Bolsonaro and Michelle.

In interviews with the press, when provoked, Tarcísio criticizes Lula. To Veja, the governor said that the PT has no plan for Brazil. At GloboNews, he said he considers the trip of João Pedro Stedile, leader of the MST (Movimento dos Trabalhadores Rurais Sem Terra), to China in Lula’s entourage more serious than Bolsonaro’s trip to Agrishow.

Behind the scenes, Tarcísio works to maintain a good relationship with the federal government. When Lula telephoned him at the end of April, the governor sought to clarify the two recent crises that put the government of São Paulo and the PT ministers on opposite sides.

They talked about the Antonov case, which led ministers to accuse Ferraz, secretary of International Affairs, of fabricating fake news. And, as he told GloboNews, Tarcísio also told Lula that the Minister of Agriculture, Carlos Fávaro, should go to Agrishow despite Bolsonaro’s presence.

Also in the interview, Tarcísio said he was not “concerned with defeating the left”, but with “making a difference”.

The moderate style in relation to Bolsonaro, who used his mandate as a platform to promote the far-right agenda, involves electoral and legal calculation. While the siege of the former president is closed in investigations ranging from vaccine fraud to coup incentive, Tarcísio seeks to keep a safe distance from his godfather and admits mistakes.

“People were hurt by the [ex-]president for some statements, issues involving the pandemic, voting polls,” he told GloboNews.

On the other hand, politicians who live with Tarcísio say that he shares Bolsonaro’s worldview and remains faithful to the former president. Allies of the governor say it is natural for him to seek to expand his electorate towards the center.

Even Bolsonarist deputies admit that, more important than following a booklet, is that Tarcísio maintains the support of the population and Bolsonaro.

Governor’s assistants claim that the roles of now embracing Bolsonarism and now waving to Lula are not incompatible and that Tarcísio knows how to move in this field. Parliamentarians remember that he would not have worked in three different governments, Dilma Rousseff (PT), Michel Temer (MDB) and Bolsonaro, if he had not had political experience.