Journalist points out that PSB's strategy could stall.

PE247 - The strategy of the PSB and Rede parties, defined during a meeting held earlier this week in São Paulo, in which the parties assure that they will maintain the achievements of past governments, such as financial stability (a legacy of the government of former president Fernando Henrique Cardoso) and social inclusion (obtained during the governments of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Dilma Rousseff (PT)), could be a double-edged sword. According to an article by journalist Tereza Cruvinel, "Recognizing the achievements of the opponent is politically honest, but with questionable electoral results."

The dilemma of the pre-candidacy of the governor of Pernambuco, Eduardo Campos (PSB), and the former senator Marina Silva (Rede) lies precisely in this point, according to the journalist. Voters satisfied with the social inclusion programs may wonder why change to something that promises to be a continuation of the current system, and if it's going to end that, why change? The PT, in turn, will likely use the opportunity to revive memories of the social improvements achieved in recent years with the various programs included in the "Brazil Without Poverty" initiative.

On the other hand, the PSB will try to keep inflation under control and preserve social gains, but will also try to put on the agenda changes that will be part of a possible government program focused on the pillars of a new model of economic growth, sustainability, and political change. At this point, the columnist says, the protesters who have been taking to the streets since June demanding improvements in the provision of public services would find in the Campos/Marina duo interlocutors closer to their ideas.

“Marina’s discourse, that it is possible to govern Brazil outside of coalition presidentialism, based on popular support, which would free the ruler from the constraints imposed by the alliance system in the form of concessions, bargains, and the 'distribution of fiefdoms,' was incorporated by Campos. Further on, it is expected that they will better clarify how such a widely desired governance model would work in practice,” Cruvinel points out.

This is the problem faced by the so-called third way, "of not completely rejecting the government they oppose. And, with that, they end up fighting with a rapier, not a sword." Not even the PSDB pre-candidate, Senator Aécio Neves (PSDB) from Minas Gerais, is exempt, since despite the increasingly harsh tone of his criticisms against the current economic policy, he makes use of the reminder that the social inclusion programs and economic stability were initiated during the PSDB government of FHC.

Observing that every power mechanism follows a specific cycle, the journalist questions whether the PSB and PSDB's discourse, of simultaneously offering both encouragement and support, will be enough to persuade voters to promote changes in the current political and economic climate. The result, however, will only be known after the elections in 2014..

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