Expulsion proceedings against the president of the Workers' Party in Recife have begun.

Mariana Almeida _ PE247 - The endless fight within the PT in Pernambuco continues. On the eve of the Direct Election Process (PED) vote, the state directorate of the party approved the start of the expulsion process of the party president in Recife, Oscar Barreto. The complaint was filed by former councilor Dilson Peixoto (PT), who accuses his colleague of party disloyalty and attacks on other members of the party. Barreto has 10 days to present a defense and, if convicted, can still appeal to the PT National Executive. The municipal leader, however, denies the existence of the process, and claims that the accusations are made with the intention of disrupting the PED elections, scheduled for this Sunday (10).

“I wanted to clarify that I am not under judicial review. I haven't even been notified yet… And what they really want is to disrupt the election. They know they're going to lose and they're doing this to demobilize the activists,” Barreto told the Folha Blog. In the complaint filed with the state directorate, Peixoto stated that Barreto had campaigned for the current mayor of Recife, Geraldo Júlio (PSB), in the 2012 municipal election, and that he voted for the socialist instead of voting for Senator Humberto Costa (PT-PE). When questioned about the accusation, Barreto was ironic. “They don't have a crystal ball to know who I voted for,” he said.

Behind the scenes, the news is that the state directory of the party decided to accept Peixoto's complaint on the night of last Tuesday (5). The request for dismissal was accepted, with 11 votes in favor and four abstentions, starting the expulsion process. The directory that will decide the fate of the PT president in Recife has 57 members, most of whom are members of the Construindo um Novo Brasil (CNB) current – ​​led by Humberto Costa – and the Mensagem ao Partido current – ​​led by federal deputy João Paulo (PT-PE), a political companion of Humberto. Oscar Barreto is allied with the political group of the former mayor of the capital, João da Costa, one of João Paulo's biggest political rivals, and despite the ongoing process, he can still run for re-election and renew his mandate as president of the Workers' Party in the capital.   

In an interview with Pernambuco 247However, the national leader of the CNB, Francisco Rocha, known as Rochinha, stated that Barreto was aware of the meeting held last Tuesday. "He knew about the meeting that took place on Tuesday. He knew so much that his representatives were there," he said. According to Rochinha, the party's national directorate will not yet comment on the matter. "Dilson Peixoto sent me the documents, the complaint against Barreto. But this has to be discussed in Pernambuco and voted on in Pernambuco," he stated.

In addition to the accusation of party disloyalty, Barreto is also accused of attacking fellow party members. One of the occurrences that would support the accusation allegedly happened in October, at the time of the handover of PT positions to the Pernambuco government. On that occasion, the PT member declared to the press that Humberto Costa would not have the courage to follow this determination, as he had more than 500 subordinates working in various state agencies and secretariats, which infuriated the CNB members. Even after the PT left the government base in Pernambuco, Barreto, who is the executive secretary of Agriculture in the State, has not yet vacated the post, despite the ultimatum given by the party for all its members to leave their positions by last Friday (1).

The disagreements between Barreto and Humberto Costa, however, have their roots in the 2012 municipal elections, when the then mayor of Recife, João da Costa (PT), decided to launch his pre-candidacy for re-election. João da Costa was thwarted by the national leadership, which ended up imposing a ticket formed by Humberto and João Paulo. The consequences of the dispute between them ended up dividing the PT into two distinct groups, placing Humberto and Oscar Barreto – a staunch defender of João da Costa – on opposite sides.