João da Costa: Is he out of the running for succession?
The mayor of Recife stated in an interview that he will remain out of the race for mayor of Recife, since he was "removed from it"; however, the mayor guaranteed that he will leave the Executive branch with R$ 3 billion already secured, facilitating the management of his successor.
– Officially, the campaign period for this year's municipal elections has begun, but the mayor of Recife, João da Costa (PT), remains, so far, aloof from the race. While his own party is still waiting for a gesture of rapprochement to strengthen the contest, the PSB is also trying to attract the mayor to its platform. For now, Costa assures, he will remain focused on taking care of the city. "I'm not going to get involved in a dispute that they took me out of," he declared in a recent interview with Rádio Jornal. Furthermore, the PT member guaranteed that he will leave a good legacy to his successor: R$ 3 billion in the treasury.
“All this fighting, all this power struggle has hampered my government. It was only revealed to the public now, but this issue has existed since the beginning of my administration. I tried to reach out (to federal deputy João Paulo), as he is the best option for the city, and nothing happened. Therefore, this already existed within the government, and I hope it doesn't happen again from now on,” says João da Costa.
During the interview, the mayor also expressed resentment at the lack of commitment from his supporters to back his nomination for reelection. "If I couldn't be well-regarded, if the administration didn't succeed, that was the justification to remove me. That's how this rejection was created," he recalled.
Furthermore, João da Costa guaranteed that his successor will receive the city hall with a positive balance of R$ 3 billion, already contracted, related to road, housing, and social programs, such as the planned depollution project in the Capibaribe Melhor program. “This is the legacy I will leave for Recife. I am leaving everything ready for the next mayor. The money is already in the Caixa Econômica Federal (Brazilian Federal Savings Bank). I'm only not happy because I wanted to be doing this myself,” he stated.