Impasse in the PT: Silvio vs. Márcio vs. Rogério; who will run in the contest?

Rogério says that, initially, he doesn't plan to abandon his candidacy: "I no longer have that power, as 160 people are mobilized, working on my name throughout the state, spreading the need to modernize the PT, to make it an agile and present party wherever there is activism and where there isn't, to create it"; Márcio informs, in a statement, that he remains a candidate, recalls that he has the support of 43 directorates and activists throughout the state, but warns that he remains open to dialogue for unity; Silvio will only run if the deputies withdraw; unity in the PT's majority faction is increasingly distant.

August 15, 2013, 23:21 PMUpdated May 27, 2019, 09:30 AM

Rogério says that, initially, he doesn't plan to abandon his candidacy: "I no longer have that power, as 160 people are mobilized, working on my name throughout the state, spreading the need to modernize the PT, to make it an agile and present party wherever there is activism and to create it where there isn't"; Márcio informs, in a statement, that he remains a candidate, recalls that he has the support of 43 directorates and activists throughout the state, but warns that he remains open to dialogue for unity; Silvio will only run if the deputies give up; unity in the PT's majority faction is increasingly distant (Photo: Valter Lima)

247 - The scenario regarding who will be the candidate of the majority faction for president of the Workers' Party (PT) in Sergipe is still undefined. The subject continues to generate a lot of discussion in the Sergipe press. The Jornal da Cidade this Thursday (15), for example, has the headline "Rogério does not give up on the PT in Sergipe", reinforcing the federal deputy's willingness to remain in the race even after Governor Marcelo Déda suggested that he and fellow federal deputy Márcio Macêdo withdraw from the election and make room for Silvio Santos to be the candidate. Márcio informed yesterday, in a press release, that he also remains willing to participate in the internal election, but reinforced that he is open to dialogue to arrange unity.

In an interview with Jornal da Cidade, Rogério Carvalho made it clear that, initially, he does not intend to abandon his candidacy and recalled: “I no longer have that power, as 160 people are mobilized, working on my name throughout the state, spreading the need to modernize the PT, to make it an agile and present party wherever there is activism and to create it where there isn't.”

Rogério Carvalho believes that a clash of candidates would be beneficial for the Workers' Party's democracy. “There are people, in fact many people, who want change, renewal in the party's leadership, more internal democracy, a Workers' Party active in Aracaju and the interior, with debates on internal issues and current affairs in Brazil. That's why those who support the ticket on which I am a presidential candidate are clearly against my withdrawal from the race. Resigning from the candidacy no longer depends on me, but on the mobilized collective,” he explained.

In a press release, Márcio Macêdo stated that "his position has remained the same since Silvio Santos withdrew his pre-candidacy, in order to build party unity, and colleagues from the Articulação Unidade na Luta/Construindo Um Novo Brasil faction presented the parliamentarian's name for the state presidency of the PT."

"In other words, Márcio Macêdo is a candidate for president of the PT in Sergipe and is open to building unity. This is the thesis he has been defending since the beginning of the conversations within the majority field," the document reinforces, citing that the deputy "has the support of 43 directorates, the mayors Esmeralda Cruz (Carmópolis) and Chico dos Correios (Nossa Senhora da Glória), the state deputy Conceição Vieira, councilors, vice-mayors, former mayors, former councilors, state and municipal secretaries, party leaders, in addition to counting on the support of the militants in all municipalities." Márcio also recalls that it was through his mandate "that the largest number of new affiliations to the party took place this year."

Given Márcio and Rogério's willingness to continue competing, the Chief of Staff, Silvio Santos, said yesterday that he will only enter the race if his name is chosen by the two federal deputies. In other words, Déda's statement created a stalemate that has not yet proven easy to resolve. The governor's position was justified by the fear of a rupture and radicalization of the electoral process, but will dismantling two groups ready for conflict generate the much-desired unity?

On the morning of this Thursday (15), Déda quickly returned to Twitter (where two days ago he published his position on the PT election), but did not speak again about the subject. He only said that he restarted the chemotherapy process, as part of the treatment against cancer.