The candidate for the Federal Senate for Paraíba, João Azevêdo (PSB), defended, during a hearing on the program Bom Dia Paraíba, on TV Cabo Branco, this Thursday (3), a redistribution of public health resources. The candidate also spoke about public-private partnerships and cases of secretaries targeted by investigations.
The hearings with Senate candidates will be held until September 8th, starting at 8am. On September 7th, a national holiday, there will be no interview. See the calendar of interviewees below.
Regarding the distribution of resources from the Unified Health System (SUS), João Azevêdo stated that the amount transferred to Paraíba is below the health expenses that the state has.
"Brazil's health system needs to be improved in several aspects, especially in terms of funding. The amount actually transferred is below the expenses that the State needs to maintain health. (...) The state of Paraíba, with 36 hospitals and four UPAs, receives fewer resources than the city of João Pessoa, which has an infinitely smaller network. This distribution of resources is wrong. It needs to be improved and I will fight to make this happen."
Regarding public-private partnerships, João Azevêdo said he is not against privatizations, but, in the case of Companhia de Água e Esgotos da Paraíba (Cagepa), for example, the candidate stated that he defends that the company remains public.
"I am not against the privatization of some things. However, when it comes to the water supply system, there is no need for privatization, and we showed this through the system and the model that we developed in Paraíba. (...) What we did was a modeling in which the BNDS spent three years developing a model in which the sewage system in 85 cities, which has almost 2 million inhabitants, is carried out by a private company."
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Secretaries investigated
João Azevêdo (PSB), candidate for senator for Paraíba, was interviewed on Bom Dia Paraíba this Thursday (3) — Photo: Reproduction/TV Cabo Branco
The candidate stated that he does not regret the decisions made and justified the assistants' remaining in the position based on the principle of presumption of innocence.
According to João, the MPPB forwarded the investigation to the Court in December 2025, but did not ask for the secretaries to be removed. He also highlighted that the Paraíba Court of Justice (TJPB) only received the complaint in May 2026, when he had already left his position as governor to run for a seat in the Senate.
"Of course I have no regrets. In fact, the Public Prosecutor's Office carried out an investigation and, in December 2025, forwarded it to the Court. No secretary was asked to leave, which could have been requested if the fact reported had been serious, and the Court of Justice only accepted the complaint in May, when I was no longer governor. There was no type of trial. The least someone deserves is the presumption of innocence", he said.
The candidate also said that, if he is elected senator and one of his assistants becomes involved in a suspicious situation, the decision on whether to keep him in office will depend on each case and the seriousness of the facts.
Sabbath calendar
The interviews will be shown on Bom Dia Paraíba and will last 15 minutes. They will be led by Rede Paraíba's political columnist, João Paulo Medeiros.
The order defined by draw was as follows:
August 31 – Veneziano Vital (MDB);
September 1 – Nabor Wanderley (Republicans);
September 2 – André Gadelha (MDB);
September 3 – João Azevêdo (PSB);
September 4th – Major Fábio (New);
September 8 – Marcelo Queiroga (PL).
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