Iris is a candidate in 2016 already with an eye on the 2018 election.

Marcus Vinícius, from Diário da Manhã

Let no one be mistaken: Iris Rezende Machado is a strong candidate for Mayor of Goiânia. All the moves have been made. See for yourself. Read what you see. And Iris must face the challenge as a mission: to unite the opposition in Goiás in the 2016 elections, with a view to the state succession in 2018.

Journalist Jarbas Rodrigues observed some of these signs in an interview he conducted with the PMDB leader, published on his personal website, Blog do Jarbas. "Former mayor Iris Rezende (PMDB) has maintained an intense schedule at his political office in Goiânia, receiving political and business leaders from the capital and the interior of the state," he notes.

Iris himself amended the statement to the journalist from O Popular:

– I'm still alive, but I'm listening more than speaking. I'm very concerned about recent events. The political and administrative world has lost the respect of society.

That's just how Iris is. He has a self-regenerative capacity like perhaps no other politician in Goiás. As Jarbas noted, I had the same impression of him 13 years ago, when Iris experienced his second defeat, perhaps the most painful, when he lost his reelection to the Senate in 2002.

With great humility, Iris went to the Diário da Manhã newsroom for a conversation with the editor-in-chief, Batista Custódio. There was no sadness or resentment on his face regarding the defeat. He conveyed to everyone who participated in the conversation a serenity typical of someone mature enough to understand the adversities of politics. He said, on that occasion, that the voter is sovereign, and if the result was not what was desired, he was still rewarded with many votes, and therefore, as a democrat, he had to pay homage to these voters. Simple as that.

In that interview, more than a decade ago, Iris made a statement: he was going to immerse himself in the organization of the PMDB. And indeed, he went to the party, presided over the state directorate, and began a path of renewal there. Some time after that meeting, I visited him at the directorate, where he received me for coffee and a chat.

At one point, I asked: "Senator, do you think the people miss the community work projects?" Without hesitation, he answered yes. I realized then that he was a candidate for mayor, as he indeed was, a year later, in 2004.

During this period of work, Iris prepared the groundwork for her mayoral candidacy and brought new players to the political scene, such as current congressmen Bruno Peixoto, Samuel Belchior, Túlio Maravilha, Thiago Peixoto, Francisco Júnior, and others. Some did not remain in the PMDB, but they had the opportunity within the party that they have today to engage in politics.

It's worth noting that before deciding to run for office, Iris attempted a coalition with the PT (Workers' Party), and many remember that he wanted to nominate the vice-mayor candidate alongside Pedro Wilson. The name circulating behind the scenes was that of former minister Flávio Peixoto. This arrangement fell through due to internal disagreements within the PT. Iris then decided to run for office, and ultimately won. Since that election, Iris has sought an alliance with the PT, which was confirmed in 2008 when the party formed a new majority and nominated him as the vice-mayor candidate for his reelection campaign.

This time, Iris is making a similar move, but signaling alliances with the DEM. And the signals also please the PTB and the PR, which, if confirmed, will broaden the PMDB's range of alliances. Could this be the embryo of a new opposition to the PSDB, or rather, to Marconism? It's too early to say.

The PMDB's move to attract parties from Marconi Perillo's government base could be decisive. This is how the opposition won the 1998 election for the Palácio das Esmeraldas (Governor's Palace). In 1996, then-mayor Nion Albernaz (PSDB) did his homework by including opposition parties in his ticket – and later in the mayor's office. Could the 1996 strategy be repeated in 2016? Who knows.

Nothing is guaranteed in politics. The strategy needs to be tested with people, with leaders. Thinking about a political platform that includes Iris Rezende, Ronaldo Caiado, Jovair Arantes, and Paulo Garcia all together isn't easy. But it's certain that in politics, the one who unites the most wins. Those who converge, win. Those who divide, lose.

Senator Ronaldo Caiado is not hegemonic within the DEM party in Goiás, as his party is divided between the government and the opposition. He is currently the biggest star, but many important leaders, such as the mayor of Quirinópolis, Odair Resende, and the president of the Legislative Assembly, Helio Sousa, are aligned with the Marconist movement.

And it's fair to say that if the majority of DEM voted for Caiado, that same majority voted for Marconi's reelection. So, the numbers don't add up. Furthermore, Caiado's blatant support for Lacerdinha against President Dilma Rousseff alienates the left from any political platform where he participates.

Iris is a candidate. Or will be a candidate. Or they want him to be a candidate. And Iris will only be a candidate aiming not only to guarantee the space for his party and the opposition in the capital. It's a candidacy to prepare for the 2018 succession game. But anyone who thinks that Mayor Paulo Garcia and the PT are out of the picture is mistaken. As Tancredo Neves once taught: "Politics is like the clouds, sometimes they're one way, suddenly they change shape."