João Paulo announces support for Maurício Rands

Raphael Coutinho _PE247- The mystery is finally over. Federal deputy and former mayor of Recife, João Paulo, has declared his support for the candidacy of the state Secretary of Government, Maurício Rands, in the PT primaries for the Recife mayoral succession. The congressman, who was still considering the possibility of also entering the race, understood that the best course of action at the moment is to invest in the candidacy of the aide to Governor Eduardo Campos (PSB). The announcement was made a short while ago by the congressman at the PT Pernambuco headquarters in Recife.

Now, there is an expectation that João Paulo may join the team coordinating the political strategy of Rands' candidacy, given that he is expected to be strongly involved in the duel the secretary will wage against the former manager's biggest rival, the mayor of Recife, João da Costa. The invitation has already been extended by the secretary.

To justify his – supposedly full – support for the candidacy of state secretary Maurício Rands in the primaries, João Paulo declared that his party colleague possesses great qualities to represent the party in this year's elections. Furthermore, another point raised by the parliamentarian was his ally's ability to unite the party and the Popular Front of Pernambuco.

“Even with the historical differences between the factions within our party, you (Rands) will have my full support,” said João Paulo, also mentioning the possibility of having left the party at another time. “At that moment I think I could have contributed to unity within the PT by remaining in the party. I spoke with great leaders of the party and preferred to continue in the PT, a party that I helped to build with many of those present here,” he stated.