Fearing another split, João Paulo refuses to compete in the primaries.
The Workers' Party (PT) in Recife is once again facing the possibility of holding a primary to determine who will be the party's candidate for mayor of the Pernambuco capital; the division is between the group that supports the candidacy of former mayor João Paulo and that of party leader Zé de Oliveira. On social media, João Paulo stated he is willing to participate in the municipal election, but that he has no interest in competing in an internal primary; in 2012, a similar situation led to a split in the party that caused it to leave the mayor's office after 12 years of governance, the consequences of which persist to this day.
247 - The Workers' Party (PT) in Recife is once again facing the possibility of holding a primary to determine who will be the party's candidate for mayor of the Pernambuco capital. The division is between the group that supports the candidacy of former mayor João Paulo and that of party leader Zé de Oliveira. On social media, João Paulo stated that he is willing to participate in the municipal election, but that he has no interest in competing in an internal primary.
The reason for João Paulo's refusal to participate in primaries is still a recent wound for the PT (Workers' Party). In 2012, the national directorate intervened in the internal dispute of the Recife directorate and annulled the primary result, determining Humberto Costa as the head of the ticket and João Paulo as vice-president. The PT ended up losing the elections to the PSB (Brazilian Socialist Party), which aggravated the division between the various factions of the party, ultimately weakening it.
Currently, the PT (Workers' Party) in Pernambuco is divided. Before opting for its own candidate, the state directorate defends the candidacy of João Paulo, while the Recife directorate tends to support the deputy and leader of the opposition in the Assembly, Silvio Costa Filho (PRB). Supporting his candidacy would be a kind of recognition of the defense of the mandate of the elected president Dilma Rousseff made by federal deputy Silvio Costa (PTdoB), the parliamentarian's father. Recently, due to this situation, Silvio Costa and PT senator Humberto Costa exchanged barbs during a local radio program.
Coincidence or not, the national PT (Workers' Party) issued a resolution stipulating that candidacies in cities with more than 100 voters must be discussed with the National Executive Committee, which puts Recife in a situation very similar to that experienced in 2012.