União Brasil may lose 2 senators amid the crisis – 06/14/2023 – Politics

Pivot to a crisis in the Lula government (PT), União Brasil lost a senator and may be without another in the coming days.

Rodrigo Cunha announced this Wednesday (14) his membership of Podemos, with the aim of strengthening himself politically in his state, Alagoas. The party is also negotiating the affiliation of Senator Soraya Thronicke (MS), who was a candidate for the Presidency of the Republic for União Brasil in the last elections.

Leaders of União Brasil and Podemos have already been advised of the intention by Soraya and say that negotiations are advanced.

The senator, who has had a turbulent relationship with the Union in recent times, denies the change of party at this time. Soraya is admitted to a private hospital in Brasilia to monitor the severe allergic condition that manifested itself a few weeks ago.

“The parliamentarian guarantees that, at this moment, she remains affiliated with her União Brasil party and any information regarding a possible change of acronym will be officially informed by her press office”, said her office, in a note.

With the affiliation of Cunha and the possible departure of Soraya, União Brasil will have seven senators, a reduction of three seats compared to the month of elections, October 2022.

At the beginning of the year, the party had already suffered a decline with the departure of Senator Chico Rodrigues (RR), currently in the PSB.

At the time, Rodrigues’ search for a party from Lula’s base, that of Vice President Geraldo Alckmin (PSB), weighed heavily.

The União Brasil, which is the result of the merger of the DEM with the PSL, has harbored an internal dispute of currents and today is the biggest headache within the base of the Lula government.

The party has three ministries in its share. In the Chamber, the group led by Elmar Nascimento (BA) pressures the government to change Minister Daniela Carneiro (Tourism), in dispute with the bench, by Celso Sabino (União Brasil-PA).

In the Senate, Davi Alcolumbre (União Brasil-AP) is the godfather of the two other ministers in the party’s quota, Juscelino Filho (Communications) and Waldez Góes (Integration and Regional Development).

The leader of União Brasil in the Senate, Efraim Filho (União Brasil-PB), stated that the party is negotiating the affiliation of another senator. “He lost one and will win one. So the bench will not get smaller”, said Efraim about Cunha’s departure.

One of the names being negotiated is Senator Styvenson Valentim (Podemos-RN). The senator has told people close to him, however, that he tends to join the PP, the acronym of also senator and former minister Ciro Nogueira (PI).

Currently, the largest benches in the Senate are Rodrigo Pacheco’s PSD (MG), with 15 of the 81 seats, and Jair Bolsonaro’s PL, with 12.