Aécio comes to São Paulo to quell Serra's rebellion.
For the past three days, Senator Aécio Neves (PSDB-MG) has been trying unsuccessfully to speak with José Serra; he has left messages on his voicemail and received no response; therefore, he will come to São Paulo on Sunday or Monday to try to arrange a personal meeting; the former governor of São Paulo, in turn, threatens to leave the PSDB if he is not given the presidency of the party and threatens to support Eduardo Campos, of the PSB, in 2014; is it still possible to forge an alliance between the two?
247 - It's been almost 72 hours of waiting. Last Wednesday, Senator Aécio Neves (PSDB-MG) called former São Paulo governor José Serra. Serra neither answered nor returned the call. Furthermore, yesterday he gave the PSDB an ultimatum: either he assumes the party presidency in the election to be held in May, or he leaves the party (read more). here (as reported in a previous article by 247). Furthermore, Serra threatens to support Eduardo Campos, of the PSB party, who has been displaying his strength in political meetings and with business groups.
Faced with the threat of a serious split within the PSDB party, Aécio decided to schedule an emergency trip to São Paulo. He is expected to arrive in the state capital this Sunday and will attempt a personal meeting with Serra, where both can process their mutual grievances. Serra attributes his defeat in the 2010 presidential election to Aécio. He says that the senator from Minas Gerais not only failed to engage in the process, when he could have been the vice-presidential candidate on the "pure-blooded" ticket, but also encouraged the publication of the book "Privataria Tucana," written by Amaury Ribeiro Júnior, which exposes the actions of his daughter Verônica and his son-in-law in the privatizations. Aécio, in turn, knows he will have to convince Serra to give him what he didn't receive in 2010.
Dissatisfied, the former governor of São Paulo has been speaking ill of Aécio. To allies, he calls him "colonel." In an interview with 247, former governor Alberto Goldman, one of the most Serra-supporting members of the PSDB, said that Aécio's candidacies for president and Geraldo Alckmin's for governor in 2014 will only be viable if Serra is not isolated within the party. Serra knows he could join either Roberto Freire's PPS or Gilberto Kassab's PSD, gaining space to run for the Palácio dos Bandeirantes (São Paulo state government headquarters) in 2014. "Aécio will have to choose whether he prefers to have the presidency of the PSDB, with Serra in Eduardo Campos' campaign, or run for president of the Republic, with Serra's support," summarizes a Serra-supporting parliamentarian.
Another leader from the PSDB party, who supports Aécio's candidacy, explains the difficulty in resolving this impasse. "Aécio doesn't trust Serra's group," he states. "With Serra as party president, it will be difficult for him to make his candidacy viable." The meeting between the two in the coming days should be decisive.