After leaving the PT, Marta will be out of the Senate.

SP 247 - Approached as a potential vice-presidential candidate on Henrique Meirelles' ticket, Senator Marta Suplicy (MDB-SP) informed the president of the MDB, Romero Jucá, on the afternoon of Friday, the 3rd, that not only will she not accept the proposal, but she will also not run for re-election to the Senate and will request to leave the MDB. 

"I am leaving parliamentary and party life, but I have many plans and am exploring new avenues for political participation in society. I will always continue to actively participate in Brazilian politics," said Marta, according to columnist Eliane Cantanhêde of [publication name]. State St. Paul. 

Marta also released a "Letter to the People of São Paulo," in which she thanks the 8,5 million voters who supported her Senate election in 2010 and harshly criticizes the direction of Brazilian politics. She states that the parties "find themselves weakened, cornered, and without political direction" and expresses frustration with Parliament, saying that the National Congress "has become hostage to an outdated agenda of societal customs."

A member of the Workers' Party (PT) since 1981, through which she was elected federal deputy in 1994, mayor of São Paulo in 2000, and senator in 2010, Marta Suplicy left the party in 2015 to support the parliamentary coup against President Dilma Rousseff, joining the then-PMDB and supporting the government of Michel Temer. 

Read below the full text of Marta Suplicy's letter, sent by the senator's press office:

LETTER TO THE PEOPLE OF SÃO PAULO

Many times, I have found myself in times of transition. In some of them, I believed there was light on the other side of the river. Now, with all the energy necessary to continue rowing, I have made a decision about the future of my political life, facing reality head-on, so that I can proceed with consistency, boldness, and courage.

I announce that I will not be running for re-election as Senator of the Republic for the State of São Paulo and I am communicating my resignation from the Brazilian Democratic Movement (MDB).

It is no secret that Brazilian political parties, in general, are weakened, cornered, and without political direction. They can no longer provide answers to the crisis of credibility that has befallen them, nor are they committed to changing the attitudes that led them to the most serious crisis in their history. They orient their political movements by the exclusive logic of increasing their parliamentary representation with the perverse and petty objective of strengthening themselves through the division and allocation of positions and spaces of power.

The relationship between many political parties and parliamentarians with the Executive branch, based on appointments and favors, has led to an intolerable "quid pro quo" system, affronting all standards of dignity and honor in society. This system has failed and urgently needs reform.

The National Congress, today, for the most part, has not positioned itself in favor of progressive causes, which are fundamental to the advancement of society. On the contrary, it has become hostage to an outdated agenda of societal customs, refusing to recognize and regulate relations between people in a way that contemplates the diversities of modern societies and respects the individual rights of human beings.

I want to thank the 8,3 million people of São Paulo who gave me the opportunity, over the last 8 years, to work as a senator defending the causes that led me to public life: the fight against inequalities and social injustices, activism for the citizenship rights of women and the LGBTI population, and for equal opportunities for all.

At this moment, I believe I can contribute more to change by working in civil society than by remaining in parliament. I will continue to participate politically in Brazilian public life. From 2019 onwards, no longer as a parliamentarian, but in all the trenches that lead me to defend the interests of the poorest, the wronged, and in the fight for the empowerment of girls and women.

I am convinced that Brazil needs a structured national development project that encompasses sectors fundamental to the country's growth. We must significantly increase production and wealth. This will enable every Brazilian man and woman to have access to quality education, healthcare, security, and a job to work and live with dignity.

Sao Paulo, August 03 of 2018.

Senator Marta Suplicy

Read below the full text of the MDB statement:

The president of the MDB party, Senator Romero Jucá, confirms the resignation request of Senator Marta Suplicy from São Paulo, who is leaving for personal reasons. The two spoke recently by phone. The party regrets but respects the senator's decision. Personally, the senator states that he "has affection and respect for her entire career throughout the years in the public and political life of the country." The senator had been affiliated with the MDB since September 2015.