Zema is between a nod to the right and criticism from Bolsonarists – 12/30/2023 – Power

The governor of Minas Gerais, Romeu Zema (Novo), who is cited as a presidential candidate for 2026, began to include in his speeches nods to right-wing ideological flags, but faces distrust from supporters of former president Jair Bolsonaro (PL), who demand support for conservative agendas.

A businessman who entered politics and is in his second term, Zema has always repeatedly defended the private sector, privatization and liberal ideology. He has been traveling around São Paulo and other places in Brazil and abroad in search of investments for the state.

One of the events in which the governor “sold” business opportunities was promoted by Lide, run by former São Paulo governor João Doria. The former tucano received Zema in September for a lunch promoted by his business group, which has been his main activity since leaving politics.

At the same time, the man from Minas Gerais receives diverse reactions with statements and management measures associated by the right-wing public with global geopolitics, such as the dispute between China and the United States.

In October, Zema said that “the electric car is a threat” to jobs in Brazil, even though Minas is a state that has obtained resources from lithium, the main component for batteries for these vehicles.

The reasoning echoed the position of former American president Donald Trump, who attacks the stimulus for electric vehicles adopted by Joe Biden, his virtual opponent in the 2024 election. Trump supports the idea that the transition to less polluting cars will benefit Chinese industry.

Zema has also strengthened relations with companies in China, which created an alert for Bolsonarists and is a reason for criticism on social media. In November, the governor went to the Asian country to close an agreement with the telecommunications company Huawei, cited in suspicions of espionage.

Radical wings of Bolsonarism have restrictions on China because it is a country under communist dictatorship.

Another thorny topic in which Zema tries to balance between economic demands and alignment with right-wing ideology is the ESG agenda. Encouraging good environmental, social and governance practices in the private sector is resisted because it highlights topics such as nature preservation and diversity.

The governor incorporated the theme into government actions and has already made a commitment that the state will seek to eliminate carbon emissions and generate sustainable development with renewable energy — terms normally extolled by the progressive left.

The Zema administration also showed signs of support for the 2030 Agenda, a global plan from the UN (United Nations) that advocates themes such as sustainability, human rights and the fight against inequality. Bolsonaro has already said that the pact would embed “the harmful ideology of gender and abortion.”

One of the crises that the Minas Gerais government faced in the Legislative Assembly was for having sent an administrative reform project that included the premise of gender diversity in the area of ​​education, associated by conservatives with what they call “gender ideology”.

When participating in Cpac Brasil 2023, an annual meeting of right-wing movements in the country, held in September in the capital of Minas Gerais, Zema was embarrassed by a woman who, from the audience, shouted that she was a state employee and had been fired for refusing to take the vaccine against to Covid-19.

State deputy Cristiano Caporezzo (PL-MG), who propagates the discourse that the governor promotes left-wing ideas, tells Sheet who, as a conservative, was disappointed with Zema’s performance, “who was clearly elected by the right-wing public”.

“Several times he tried to please the Greeks and Trojans, balancing himself on top of the fence”, says the Bolsonaro supporter, who did not accept Zema’s participation in the Doria event and saw ambiguity in the fact that the Minas Gerais native, after being criticized by those around him, -president, having gone to a cafe with Bolsonaro.

The criticisms are reinforced by Raquel Morato, president of the Conservatives in Action Movement/Minas Gerais. “On the economic issue, nothing discredits Zema, but he is not an ideologically conservative person, he is not right-wing”, says the activist and pre-candidate for councilor for the PL.

Raquel says she voted for the Novo representative and thinks he “is leaving something to be desired”.

For state deputy Bruno Engler (PL-MG), however, the differences with the Bolsonarist camp were predictable because the governor “never declared himself conservative”. The parliamentarian, who is a pre-candidate for mayor of Belo Horizonte, assesses that Zema “gets more right than he gets wrong”.

The three interviewees show little enthusiasm for the governor’s eventual candidacy for President and harbor the dream that Bolsonaro will reverse his ineligibility by then.

The Government of Minas Gerais, in a note, says that the Zema administration “does not develop public policies guided by ideological preferences or ‘electoral nods'” and that its decisions “are based on essentially technical management analyzes and the rationalization of the use of resources public”.

The office defended the governor’s mission to China in November, stating that it was an example “of the diversification of investments that the current administration has attracted to the state, by closing a partnership with the company Huawei to bring quality Wi-Fi to 1, 3 million students in the state network”.

According to the statement, management “is aligned with current best ESG practices, as it is aware that these actions are not partisan policies restricted to an ideological group.” The understanding is that “sustainable development and preservation of the environment are indispensable conditions for the actions of governments and companies anywhere in the world”.

The government reiterated its liberal spirit, arguing that “in several activities the private sector has greater capacity to act than the public authorities”. He said that the State must act in security, health and education, but favor companies with less bureaucracy in the name of generating employment and income.

The note attributes the following statement to Zema: “I will not give up on giving equal treatment to everyone. Public policy is also made by talking to those who think differently from us, listening and considering.” Elsewhere, there is a statement credited to the governor that he seeks to “improve the lives of miners”, without “worrying about dogmas”.