In pursuit of victory in the first round.
To avoid a fratricidal confrontation between the PT and PSB parties in the Recife elections, the teams of the mayoral candidates from both parties (Humberto Costa and Geraldo Júlio, respectively) are working with the possibility of resolving the election as early as October 7th; however, this scenario is becoming increasingly difficult to avoid.
PE247 – The two main rivals in the race for Mayor of Recife, Senator Humberto Costa (PT) and former state secretary Geraldo Júlio (PSB), are working with the possibility of winning in the first round. Although neither has reached a percentage in the opinion polls capable of guaranteeing this feat, behind the scenes of both campaigns the prevailing thought is that it is necessary to avoid a confrontation between them in a possible second round. The current idea is that at such a stage, a peaceful coexistence between the two candidates would be impossible.
Last week, there was even information circulating that Humberto had reached an agreement to support Mendonça Filho (DEM), his historical rival, if the Democrat reached the second round. The reverse would be true if the PT candidate faced Geraldo Júlio in a second round of the election. Both, however, denied such an agreement.
The truth is that, especially for the PSB, it would become increasingly difficult to maintain the discourse of being a national ally of the PT if, in Recife, there were a fratricidal dispute between the two parties. A possibility that is becoming increasingly likely.
However, the socialists need to fight to make Geraldo Júlio increasingly known to the population of Recife. The mayoral candidate still goes unnoticed on the city streets. In Humberto's case, the PT members promise a full-on campaign emphasizing that the senator is the only candidate of former president Lula in Recife and that former mayor João Paulo, who is running as the parliamentarian's vice-presidential candidate, is completely committed to this campaign.
But to disrupt Humberto and Geraldo's plans to resolve the election in the first round, deputies Mendonça Filho (federal) and Daniel Coelho (PSDB/state) have emerged. The Democrat was indicated as a voting option by 24% of the population, and the PSDB candidate surpassed 9%. Both appear to be viable options.