Meetings with PT leaders and deputies, praise for elected senator Marília Campos and the promise to build a joint proposal for Minas debt with the Union. Elected senator and governor Cleitinho Azevedo (Republicans) has made moves to get closer to PT leaders while organizing a meeting with re-elected president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT).
A supporter of Flávio Bolsonaro (PL) in the presidential dispute, Cleitinho already argued, before the result of the second round, that he would need to dialogue with the winner.
On the first day after being elected governor, on October 5, Cleitinho told TV Globo that his first action would be to seek out the future president to discuss partnerships, resources and the negotiation of state debt (read more below). On the day of the second round voting, he made supporters of Lula and Flávio hug each other.
This report addresses the following points:
Closeness even with political differences
Praise for Marília Campos and joint plan
Marília's 'central role', says political scientist
Meetings with PT members
MG debt and dialogue with the federal government
Support for Flávio Bolsonaro
Closeness even with political differences
For political scientist Leandro Silva, an electoral behavior analyst, Cleitinho's movements must be understood based on the change between contesting an election and taking responsibility for management.
In his assessment, Cleitinho needs to build a relationship with the federal government to meet Minas' demands, even while maintaining political differences. “One thing is called elections, and another is called management”, he says.
For Silva, this approach could result in a “strategic, non-ideological alliance”, in which the two governments identify benefits in cooperation. If on the one hand Cleitinho seeks support to govern and negotiate demands from Minas, on the other Lula is interested in maintaining political influence in the state. It is a relationship that can, therefore, lead to gains for both the elected governor and the PT member.
The articulation of a meeting with Lula was confirmed by Cleitinho's advisors, but the date remained undefined until this Friday (13).
g1 questioned the federal government about the possible meeting and about conversations with the elected governor's team, but did not receive a response until the publication of this report.
Praise for Marília Campos and joint plan
Over the last week, Cleitinho had a series of meetings in the offices of PT state deputies in the MG Legislative Assembly and with the president of the PT directory in Belo Horizonte. He also praised Marília Campos, elected senator for Minas Gerais by the PT.
Last Wednesday (11), Cleitinho spoke in the Senate plenary, where he still holds his mandate until taking over the government of Minas. In his speech, he stated that Marília Campos will be one of the best senators in the country. Marília had gone to visit the Senate, where she will take office in February of next year.
“I had the honor of being able to work with her in the Legislative Assembly, in my first term as state deputy, and [she] will be one of the best senators in Brazil — you can be sure of that.”
The elected governor said he was preparing a meeting and a work plan with Marília on the state debt. According to him, the partnership will also aim to establish dialogue with the federal government.
Afterwards, he reinforced his intention to work with the future senator. “Minas needs to be a protagonist, and I know that Marília, here in the Senate, and I, in the government, are going to make history for Minas Gerais.”
Marília's 'central role', says political scientist
A video with Cleitinho's speech was even posted on Marília Campos' Instagram profile. She also posted a photo of the two holding hands.
"We talked about the situation in our state and the challenges that lie ahead. There is a lot of work to do and I remain confident that, with dialogue and commitment, we will move forward", Marília wrote in the post.
For Leandro Silva, Marília occupies a central position in this articulation. He highlights that, although she was elected by the PT, she will represent Minas in the Senate and will have to reconcile party commitments with the demands of the state.
“Electorally, she was elected PT senator, but, whether she likes it or not, she is a senator from the state of Minas Gerais, she represents the interests of the state of Minas Gerais”, he states.
Meetings with PT members
Before the meeting in the Senate with Marília, Cleitinho met with Guima Jardim, president of the PT directory in Belo Horizonte, in the Administrative City, seat of the government of MG. Cleitinho already has an office on site to work on the government transition. The elected vice-governor, Luís Eduardo Falcão (Republicans), also participated in the meeting.
When publishing a photo of the meeting on his social networks, Jardim classified the conversation as “excellent” and spoke of a new cycle for Minas. Cleitinho replied that he would be available to talk.
The elected governor also visited offices in the Legislative Assembly, including those of PT deputies Andréia de Jesus and Ulysses Gomes.
Andréia, who had criticized Cleitinho on social media the day before the meeting, reported that the conversation dealt with carnival, the prison system, quilombola and indigenous communities and cultural notices.
In the video published by the deputy on her Instagram account after the meeting, Cleitinho stated that she made a point of looking for parliamentarians who will oppose her administration. “During the process, question me, demand me, monitor me,” he said.
MG debt and dialogue with the federal government
Elected in the first round, on October 4, with 55.40% of the valid votes, Cleitinho placed the negotiation of the debt with the Union among the priorities of the future administration.
“The priority is to combat injustices, and, regardless of who the President of the Republic is, sit down with him, be able to negotiate the debt, be able to show that the government of the state of Minas will be at the disposal of the federal government, because there is no way to do politics without the federal government”, he said.
The following day, in an interview with TV Globo, he defended that debt payments be reversed into investments in the state itself, in areas such as infrastructure and health.
For Leandro Silva, the size of the debt makes this dialogue with the federal government especially important. In his opinion, a publicly confrontational relationship could make the search for an agreement difficult.
“If you go public as an enemy of the federal government, you can be sure that anything that happens will be much more difficult to renegotiate, to suddenly seek an understanding”, he states.
The political scientist considers that one of the challenges will be to reconcile the positions that helped elect Cleitinho with the need to negotiate with opponents. He also emphasizes that this task will depend on the team that the elected governor is forming.
Support for Flávio Bolsonaro
The defense of dialogue with the federal government occurred at the same time that Cleitinho supported Flávio Bolsonaro in the presidential campaign. On the eve of the second round, the elected governor participated in an event with the PL candidate in Belo Horizonte, where the two got on a sound car.
"Do the L, do the 22. This is democracy! If Bolsonaro wins tomorrow, I will look for him. If Lula wins, I will look for him. I will govern for you, for everyone", he stated.
At the time, he also said he believed he could receive support from PT members, but acknowledged that he would have opposition.
"I have to think about the people, I don't have to think about myself, nor about the party. My party is now Minas Gerais", he declared.
Political scientist Leandro Silva assesses that the approach could provoke criticism among voters who expect a stance of permanent opposition to the PT. For him, however, the commitment to governing also involves those who voted for other candidates.
