Sabino is having difficulty finding a party to support his Senate candidacy.

247 - The Minister of Tourism, Celso Sabino, announced that he will remain in the government of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT), even facing the risk of expulsion from his party, União Brasil. The decision contradicts the party's determination, which had set a deadline of September 19 for him to leave his post.

According to Malu Gaspar, from the newspaper The GlobeSabino even submitted a letter of resignation to Lula on September 26th, but reversed his decision after receiving a promise of support from the president for his future candidacy for the Senate in 2026. However, remaining in the party comes at a price: without União Brasil, the minister will have to find a new party to run with, a move that is facing resistance in the political landscape of Pará.

Dispute with MDB and challenge for the Senate seat.

The largest party supporting the government in Pará, the MDB, has already finalized its ticket for the Senate in 2026. Governor Helder Barbalho, in his second term, intends to run for one of the two seats and will resign in March 2026 to make way for his vice-governor, Hana Ghassan, who will assume the leadership of the state and seek re-election. The second seat is reserved for the president of the Legislative Assembly, Chicão, also from the MDB.

Members of Helder Barbalho's political group informed Sabino that there is no room even for an attempt at reelection to the Chamber of Deputies. The MDB should prioritize the candidacy of Jader Filho, Minister of Cities, who will be making his electoral debut in Pará.

Alternative within the PSB and internal impasse.

Faced with the MDB's blockade, Sabino is considering joining the PSB, the party of Vice President Geraldo Alckmin. This option, however, depends on the approval of the party's national president, the mayor of Recife, João Campos. The situation is delicate: Campos has strong ties to the Barbalho group and actively participated in the campaign of Igor Normando, the governor's cousin, in the race for mayor of Belém in 2024.

However, the political landscape in Pará is fragmented. The mayor of Ananindeua, Dr. Daniel Santos, now with the PSB party, broke with Helder Barbalho and has emerged as an opponent of the group. He defeated the MDB-backed candidate by a wide margin in 2024 and could use his base as a counterpoint to the Barbalho family's dominance in the state.

The election calendar puts pressure on the minister.

Although the elections are a year away, Sabino knows that time is working against him. The window for switching parties without risking the loss of his mandate opens in less than six months, and state-level negotiations are already well advanced. Since Senate seats are more limited than federal deputy seats, each move requires high-level negotiations.

While searching for a new party, the minister is banking on the visibility provided by major events on the Pará state calendar, such as COP30 in Belém, scheduled for November, and the Círio de Nazaré, which takes place this month, to strengthen his name in the electoral race. Furthermore, if he remains in the ministry until March, he will have control over a significant volume of parliamentary amendments, a strategic resource for consolidating alliances and boosting his pre-campaign.