Chapa Caiado-Kassab should be left without a PSD platform in decisive states
The future PSD ticket in the dispute for Palácio do Planalto - with Ronaldo Caiado as candidate for president and Gilberto Kassab, vice - could be left without a party platform in decisive states in the race.
The former governor of Goiás announced the national president of the party for the position of vice last Wednesday (1st).
In a speech to the press after the announcement, Kassab dismissed the classification of these state alliances as opportunism or the existence of a crisis within the party. "The PSD is a party that lives in harmony, with serious, committed leadership and all these candidates are people who have their circumstances because of local issues, not because of opportunism."
São Paulo
In São Paulo, a state that, in 2024, had more than 34 million voters eligible to vote, the PSD campaign will support the re-election of governor Tarcísio de Freitas (Republicans). However, the governor, who was former president Jair Bolsonaro's minister, is expected to support the candidacy of Flávio Bolsonaro (PL) in the election.
Kassab defends the position of maintaining his support, despite reciprocity, citing the importance he sees in the São Paulo governor at the regional level. "For Brazil and São Paulo, Tarcísio's reelection is important. And we know that Tarcísio's candidate is Flávio Bolsonaro, not Caiado."
Tarcísio even stated during an interview that, due to polarization, "there is no space for these regional leaders to emerge as a national leader". In addition to reiterating, on the same occasion, his support for Flávio Bolsonaro.
"Back then I said: my candidate will be Bolsonaro, or whoever Bolsonaro nominates and Bolsonaro nominated Flávio, so my candidate is Flávio, that's it, that's it," said the governor of São Paulo.
Minas Gerais
In Minas Gerais, the second electoral college in the country, the PSD is counting on current governor Mateus Simões for re-election. However, Simões chose to support Romeu Zema (Novo), whose runner-up he was on the ticket that won the last general elections, in 2022.
In a statement to CNN, the governor spoke of coherence and loyalty, in addition to justifying his choice of the fiscal policy that Zema applied in Minas Gerais, which, according to Simões, would be beneficial to Brazil.
"I have already said publicly that my candidate for President is Governor Romeu Zema. I make this choice because I closely followed the transformation he promoted in Minas Gerais and I believe that Brazil today faces challenges similar to those that Minas faced a few years ago, especially in the fiscal area", he stated.
The president of the state directory of Minas Gerais, Cássio Soares, says that Simões' support for his predecessor is a "previous, sensible and balanced agreement" and that each member of the PSD will be able to accompany the candidate of their preference. "Everyone has the freedom to follow their preferred candidate, and in Ronaldo Caiado's candidacy we also have a very interesting and welcome alternative for Brazil."
Soares himself told CNN that he will support Caiado. "I, as state president of the PSD, reaffirm my commitment to the pre-candidacies of Ronaldo Caiado for the Presidency of the Republic and Gilberto Kassab for the Vice-Presidency."
Rio de Janeiro
In Rio de Janeiro, the PSD will have the name of former mayor Eduardo Paes in the dispute for state government. However, just as he did in his campaign during the 2024 municipal elections, Paes is expected to support the re-election of current president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT).
In an interview with CNN Brasil, Kassab reiterated his understanding position with local issues involving state party directories. "It makes no sense for us not to understand this circumstance of Eduardo Paes, who has a candidacy embraced by several political parties, several leaders who are not in Caiado's candidacy", stated the leader.
In April this year, the PT of Rio de Janeiro had already made its position official in supporting Eduardo Paes' pre-candidacy for the Guanabara Palace.
Bahia
Senator Otto Alencar (PSD-BA), state president of the party in Bahia, participated on Wednesday in an event alongside Lula, where he expressed the party's support for the PT ticket. "The PSD of Bahia will march, regardless of the national ticket launched with the candidate and the president of my party, with Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva", he said during the inauguration of a hospital in the city of Alagoinhas, in the Bahian countryside.
The PT will have a pure-blood ticket in the state, with governor Jerônimo Rodrigues running for re-election to the state government and, for the two open vacancies in the Federal Senate, Rui Costa and Jaques Wagner will compete. "You have a companion in me, a friend for all hours", said Alencar to Lula.
Ronaldo Caiado announces Kassab as vice-president in the race for President | BEHIND THE SCENES CNN
*Under the supervision of Renata Souza
Source: CNN