Who are the senators of Pacheco and Marinho’s “shock troops”

With the election for the Senate presidency undecided, every one of the 81 possible votes is important. To win them over, the president of the House, Rodrigo Pacheco (PSD-MG), who is running for reelection, and the elected senator Rogério Marinho (PL-RN), have had the support of their respective “shock troops” to organize the campaigns and ask for votes.

The task force of the two candidates has coordinators and supporters from the immediate surroundings who help convince undecided voters and consolidate votes, as well as organize the counting and recounting of promised votes. There are also senators who assist in hand-to-hand work on trips around the country.

In the case of Pacheco, his campaign has Senator Davi Alcolumbre (União Brasil-AP) as general coordinator, as was the case in the 2021 Board of Directors election. , like União, Podemos and PSDB, as well as agreements on the distribution of spaces on the Board of Directors and on permanent committees.

In addition to Alcolumbre, senators Jaques Wagner (PT-BA), Randolfe Rodrigues (Rede-AP) and Veneziano Vital do Rêgo (MDB-PB) also helped in the process of coordinating and articulating Pacheco’s campaign.

Marinho’s campaign does not have a kind of general coordinator. Marinho himself took over most of the articulations and has conducted an extensive travel schedule since the beginning of the year. However, the articulations also dilute mainly between senators Carlos Portinho (PL-RJ), Eduardo Gomes (PL-TO) and Wellington Fagundes (PL-MT). Other senators also act in the coordination and articulation process, such as senators Flávio Bolsonaro (PL-RJ) and elected senator Tereza Cristina (PP-MS).

Party leaders and presidents also support Pacheco and Marinho

In addition to coordinators, candidates also have the support of presidents, party leaders and vice-leaders, who act as advisers and even electoral officers. In a meeting on Monday (16) to take stock of Marinho’s articulations, the national president of the PL, Valdemar Costa Neto, said in a published video that senators Wellington Fagundes and Carlos Portinho had their “functions”.

Portinho explains that they are articulation functions. “The senators are divided in their articulations with senators from their states and others closest to them”, he says. Even the leader of the PL in the Chamber, Altineu Côrtes (RJ), also has his attributions. “The composition of the House election matters to the Senate in order to serve the parties of our base that is being formed for this election”, says the legislator.

Former leader of the government at the end of the term of former president Jair Bolsonaro (PL), Portinho also praises the performance of senators Flávio Bolsonaro and Eduardo Gomes. “We always talk about the advances that occur”, he says.

Portinho also highlights the work of Tereza Cristina and the leader and national president of the PP, senator Ciro Nogueira (PI). “Since the first day, Tereza has participated in all the meetings, as has Ciro”, he says. From the party, senator Luiz Carlos Heinze (RS) was another to assume a mission of electoral cable.

Portinho also had meetings with the leader and national president of the Republicans, senator Messias de Jesus (RR) and federal deputy Marcos Pereira (SP), respectively. “There is work shared between the presidents of the three basic parties and their leaders, not least because it is important to always be in contact with all the senators”, he highlights.

The same task force takes place in Pacheco’s campaign. In addition to the coordinators, he has also had the support and advice of party presidents, such as the PSD himself, Gilberto Kassab, and leaders in the Senate, such as those of the MDB, Eduardo Braga (AM); from PDT, Weverton Rocha (MA); from União Brasil, Davi Alcolumbre; from Rede, Randolfe Rodrigues; and from the PT, Fabiano Contarato (ES).

First vice-president of the Senate, Senator Veneziano Vital do Rêgo avoids defining his role in the coordination, but assumes that he has been active in the campaign at the request of Pacheco himself. “I am a modest collaborator of his campaign, who asked ours and our companions with the clearest reasons that I allow myself to expose. of its challenges”, he comments.

Rodrigo Pacheco’s shock troops

Davi Alcolumbre (União Brasil-AP)

Former president of the Senate and current president of the Constitution and Justice Commission (CCJ), he is in his first term. He was a federal deputy for three terms and councilor in Macapá for one term. He is from a family whose assets spanned several areas in Amapá, including communication, owning Bandeirantes and SBT relays in the state.

In the campaign, he is the one who concentrates the main articulations with Pacheco’s endorsement, although against the will of some senators. He forwarded agreements and the distribution of positions on the Board of Directors and for the permanent commissions, such as his reappointment to the CCJ.

Jaques Wagner (PT-BA)

Leader of the government in the Senate, Jaques Wagner was governor of Bahia for two terms, minister of Defense, of the Civil House and of the Institutional Relations Secretariat in the PT administrations. He was also a federal deputy for three terms. In the campaign, Wagner has been asking for votes from senators from different groups and is also the one who took on the dialogue regarding agreements created between senators and the federal government.

Randolf Rodrigues (Rede-AP)

Leader of the government in Congress, Randolfe Rodrigues is in his second term as a senator. Previously, he was a state representative for two terms. He was a university professor, historian and holds a bachelor’s degree in law, with a master’s degree in public policy. He positioned himself in favor of Pacheco’s re-election shortly after the victory of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) and works together with senators from the PT base to consolidate votes in the party benches.

Veneziano Vital do Rêgo (MDB-PB)

First vice-president of the Senate, Veneziano Vital do Rêgo was mayor of Campina Grande (PB) for two consecutive terms, federal deputy and is in his first term in the Senate. He is a lawyer and son of former federal deputy Vital do Rêgo and senator Nilda Gondim (MDB-PB).

For Pacheco’s campaign, the senator helps with articulations in the political center and in his party. “The MDB votes for Rodrigo. With our ten votes, I think there’s no doubt about that, it’s the purpose of us being with the group all closed and all united around his candidacy”, he says. “Outside the MDB, it is evident that here we are a body in which in relationships very well, we give the condition as well as I reciprocally give to speak, listen, and plead for a partner”, he adds.

Rogério Marinho’s shock troops

Carlos Portinho (PL-RJ)

Former leader of the government in the Senate in the management of former President Jair Bolsonaro (PL), Carlos Portinho is in his first term. He was an alternate for Senator Arolde de Oliveira, who died in 2020. He is a professor and lawyer in the areas of sports, tax and public law. “We do a multi-handed job for a Senate that needs to be more efficient in the work of its committees, that shelve less and debate more”, highlights Portinho.

Eduardo Gomes (PL-TO)

Former leader of the government in Congress during the Bolsonaro administration, Eduardo Gomes is in his first term in the Senate. Previously, he was a federal deputy for three terms and councilor in Palmas for two terms. He has acted to secure votes in his state, in his region and among closest senators.

Wellington Fagundes (PL-MT)

Leader of the parliamentary bloc that brought together the PL and PTB in the last legislature, Wellington Fagundes is in his second term. Before, he was a federal deputy for six terms. He has a degree in veterinary medicine and has worked to consolidate votes in his state, in his region and with his closest allies.

Flávio Bolsonaro (PL-RJ)

Leader of the PL in the Senate, Flávio Bolsonaro is in his first term as a senator. He was state deputy for Rio de Janeiro in four terms. The former president’s eldest son, he has a degree in Law and, even from the United States, has had conversations and meetings with the core of the campaign and nearby senators.

Tereza Cristina (PP-MS)

Agronomist entrepreneur, Tereza Cristina was elected in 2022 for her first term in the Senate. She served one term as a federal deputy in 2014 and was re-elected in 2018, but spent most of her term as Bolsonaro’s minister of agriculture.

The elected senator has worked closely with Marinho and articulated not only with senators from her state and region. She also talks with senators who are undecided, but willing to listen to the proposals of the PL candidate and the group that supports him.