Aécio abandons Serra in São Paulo and withdraws from the 2014 election.

247 - Last weekend, Datafolha indicated that President Dilma Rousseff has a 64% approval rating among Brazilians, but that many voters prefer former President Lula to run for the presidency again in 2014. In the current scenario, there are only two viable candidates in the next presidential elections: Dilma, who is eligible for reelection, and Lula. Therefore, a report from Minas 247 (read more here), pointed out that the most likely scenario for Senator Aécio Neves, considered the main opposition figure, is to try to regain the Palácio da Liberdade (Governor's Palace) in Belo Horizonte – especially since the current governor, Antonio Anastasia, whom he appointed, is not eligible for reelection.

Now, Aécio is making a concrete move in this direction. Within the PSDB, many are demanding that he run for president in 2014 to solidify his name, even though his chances of winning are slim. Aécio, however, doesn't like to get involved in lost elections. And he passed the buck to José Serra, saying that the former governor of São Paulo could be the PSDB's presidential candidate in 2014 if he is the "most viable option."

In practice, Aécio also dealt a blow to José Serra's candidacy in São Paulo. The weakest point for the PSDB candidate concerns the fact that he was elected in 2004 and abandoned the mayoralty two years later to run for state governor. Serra had signed a notarized declaration committing to stay until the end – which he recently described as a "little piece of paper." And this point has been brought up by his two main opponents: Gabriel Chalita, of the PMDB, and Fernando Haddad, of the PT.

If Aécio does, in fact, begin to distance himself from the presidential project, the PSDB will be left with only one name: that of José Serra. This is because Marconi Perillo, who claimed to be able to challenge both Lula and Dilma, now finds himself forced to explain his relationship with the illegal gambling operator Carlos Cachoeira.