Pacheco distances himself from the PT and considers running for governor of Minas Gerais.

247 - Former Senate President Rodrigo Pacheco (PSD-MG) is considering a possible run for governor of Minas Gerais and is awaiting concrete signals from União Brasil or MDB before making any decision. Behind the scenes, allies indicate that the senator has distanced himself from the PT in recent months and is working with the possibility of running for the Palácio Tiradentes (Governor's Palace) without any PT members on the ticket.

According to people close to Pacheco, the prevailing assessment is that a direct association with the federal government would not bring political gains in Minas Gerais. This understanding also led to the dismissal of a possible affiliation with the PSB, considered to be of little advantage from an electoral standpoint.

The move poses difficulties for President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who since last year had been publicly expressing his desire to see Pacheco as a candidate for governor of Minas Gerais. At the time, the then-president of the Senate was seen as a name capable of offering a competitive platform in the state, which is strategic for the presidential race.

The scenario, however, has changed. Allies argue that, should Pacheco confirm his candidacy, the best alternative would be to repeat a strategy similar to that adopted in the 2024 Belo Horizonte municipal election. On that occasion, PT and PL launched their own candidates, while PSD supported the candidacy of then-mayor Fuad Noman with the support of União Brasil.

The senator has also decided to leave the PSD after the affiliation of the vice-governor of Minas Gerais, Mateus Simões, an ally of Governor Romeu Zema (Novo). Simões is expected to run for state governor with the support of the current governor, which made Pacheco's continued membership in the party untenable. Given this situation, political discussions have focused on União Brasil and MDB.

The willingness to return to the center of the electoral chessboard represents a turning point in Pacheco's recent trajectory. After not being chosen for a seat on the Supreme Federal Court, he even declared that he intended to withdraw from public life. Now, according to sources, he is again seriously considering running for governor of Minas Gerais.

Among the factors that contributed to this change is the maneuver led by the president of the Senate, Davi Alcolumbre (União Brasil-AP), at the end of last year, to contain the PP's rapprochement with the political group of the vice-governor. União Brasil and PP form a national federation, which obliges the two parties to act jointly in the states. In Minas Gerais, the PP had been signaling support for Mateus Simões.

The message conveyed to Pacheco's inner circle is that the União Brasil-PP federation may distance itself from the governing coalition in the state, opening space for the senator's affiliation and the formation of an alternative ticket. In this scenario, the PP could also join the majority coalition.

Within the MDB party, the main obstacle is the existence of a pre-candidate already launched, former city councilor Gabriel Azevedo. Even so, Pacheco's allies believe there is room for internal negotiation. The senator has a history with the party, to which he was affiliated between 2009 and 2018, before migrating to the DEM, the party that later gave rise to União Brasil.

According to sources close to the senator, the final decision will only be made after a clear signal from one of these parties, accompanied by a guarantee of a competitive political and electoral structure. Until now, Davi Alcolumbre has been identified as the main strategist and enthusiast behind a potential candidacy of Rodrigo Pacheco for governor of Minas Gerais.