Senators from Brazil’s Progressistas party (PP) are unhappy with the launch of Rogério Marinho’s bid to lead the Senate and with attacks urging fellow party member Tereza Cristina to abandon her own candidacy. The campaign launch is scheduled for Wednesday, December 4, while banners and social media posts have called on Cristina to “stop getting in the way of the opposition,” according to the report.
Cristina and Marinho, a senator from the Liberal Party (PL), have agreed that the opposition should field a single candidate against Senate President Davi Alcolumbre’s bid for reelection. They have not settled on who that candidate will be. Their plan is for the contender considered less viable to step aside in January.
Two PP lawmakers said the pressure has upset Cristina, but is not currently expected to shift the party’s votes toward Alcolumbre. They said that if the attacks continue, PP could open negotiations with the incumbent. The party is expected to have six votes in the next legislature, including two senators regarded as likely to support Alcolumbre, two aligned with the opposition, and two undecided.
The PL is due to meet Wednesday to decide its strategy for the Senate leadership election, scheduled for February 1. The launch event is also expected to draw Novo lawmakers and opposition senators from other parties who intend to declare their support for Marinho. PP senators are expected to boycott the event, according to the lawmakers cited in the report.
Marinho points to the PL’s 29 elected senators and Novo’s three as evidence that his campaign starts with greater backing than Cristina’s. Cristina, a former agriculture minister under Jair Bolsonaro, is seeking support from the women’s caucus and centrist politicians, while some opposition figures are pressing her to withdraw and endorse Marinho. She has so far resisted.
PL Senate leader Carlos Portinho said Tuesday that it was “absolutely legitimate” for Cristina to run. He said the opposition could assess closer to the election which contender has greater electoral support, adding that he expected an agreement in the end. Portinho also described Cristina as an important female leader for the right and said she had been involved in opposition discussions since before the first round of elections.
The Senate vote is secret, though some opposition lawmakers want senators to show their ballots before casting them, in an effort to discourage support for Alcolumbre. The report says Alcolumbre is counting on divisions within the opposition and on relationships with right-wing senators from centrist parties. A federation formed by PP and União Brasil has announced support for his reelection, but senators from the two parties were not consulted beforehand and have avoided publicly endorsing the statement.
Separately, PL leaders met Tuesday night to discuss the race for the lower house speakership but reached no decision. Party leader Sóstenes Cavalcante said the party would decide after hearing from its newly elected lawmakers on Wednesday, December 11. He said PL would also continue seeking leadership of seven standing committees, citing its status as the chamber’s largest bloc.
Current lower house speaker Hugo Motta has gathered support from centrist and left-wing parties, including the Workers’ Party. The group backing him has reached 361 lawmakers, more than half of the 513-seat chamber and above the 257 votes needed for reelection.
Sources: Folha Poder.