Aécio: "Eduardo can no longer back down. And that's a good thing."

This was the interpretation that Senator Aécio Neves (PSDB-MG) gave to one of his closest advisors regarding the alliance between Eduardo Campos and Marina Silva; according to him, there was a risk that the governor of Pernambuco would abandon his presidential candidacy mid-campaign due to pressure from the PT and, above all, from former president Lula; now, he believes that Campos has reached a point of no return and will go all the way, which would lead to a second round – in this scenario, the senator bets that he is the one who advances to the final round against President Dilma.

October 06, 2013, 20:41 PMUpdated May 27, 2019, 09:25 AM

This was the interpretation that Senator Aécio Neves (PSDB-MG) made of the alliance between Eduardo Campos and Marina Silva to one of his closest interlocutors; according to him, there was a risk that the governor of Pernambuco would give up his presidential candidacy mid-campaign due to pressure from the PT and, above all, from former president Lula; now, he believes that Campos has reached a point of no return and will go all the way, which would lead to a second round – in this scenario, the PSDB member bets that he is the one who advances to the final round against President Dilma (Photo: Leonardo Attuch)

247 - On a Sunday when the country's main leaders were still trying to digest the impact of the alliance between Pernambuco governor Eduardo Campos and former senator Marina Silva, the presidential candidate from the PSDB party, Senator Aécio Neves (PSDB-MG), gave a positive assessment of the episode to one of his closest associates.

According to him, Eduardo Campos has reached a point of no return. In other words, he can no longer back down from his presidential ambitions. Aécio feared that the Pernambuco native, pressured by the PT, which attracted one of the most symbolic names of the PSB (Cid Gomes, from Ceará) to the government base, and by former president Lula, would end up giving up the race halfway through. "Eduardo can no longer back down, and that's good," said Aécio.

With Marina Silva joining the presidential campaign, the PSB has only one option: to contest the presidency in opposition to the Dilma government and the PT. After yesterday's speeches and the launch of the "democratic coalition," it makes no sense to withdraw from the race.

The problem for the PSDB is that Aécio himself could be left out of a possible second round. The increased support promised by Marina, combined with the activism of Rede, could allow Campos, who currently trails Aécio in the polls, to overtake him. However, the PSDB candidate believes this won't happen and still sees himself as the most likely candidate in a potential second round against President Dilma.

This Sunday, in an interview with Estado de S. Paulo, he stated that he "will not anticipate the PSDB's game" and also did not rule out a possible candidacy of José Serra, who decided to remain in the party. "Serra will always be a name to be evaluated by the PSDB for any position, including the presidential candidacy; we have no reason to anticipate this game," he said. "If he is not eventually the candidate, he has, due to his political capital, electoral capital, and personal background, the ability to help us coordinate this agenda. He can be an exponential figure in building the new discourse of the PSDB. The agenda currently underway in Brazil was the one we proposed 20 years ago. There is no new agenda." (read here (the full text).