Pimentel warns about the violence in Minas Gerais.

Mines 247 – The candidate for governor of Minas Gerais from the Minas Pra Você Coalition, Fernando Pimentel (PT), warned yesterday about the increase in crime and drug trafficking in the Northwest region of Minas Gerais. Pimentel and his running mate, former Minister of Agriculture Toninho Andrade (PMDB), took the Participation Caravan to the cities of Paracatu and Patos de Minas this Thursday (June 26), where they listened to the demands of the residents.

"Violence is a problem not only in Paracatu, but in all regions. Here, the situation is even more serious. There is a clear disregard from the state government regarding security. In Belo Horizonte, Civil Police delegates held a demonstration demanding better salaries. And they are rightfully complaining because they receive the lowest salaries in Brazil. The police are demotivated, poorly equipped, and this generates a very high level of insecurity," analyzed Fernando Pimentel.

The candidate guaranteed that this will be a priority point in his government program. "We will re-equip the Civil Police, increase the number of Military Police officers, in short, do what the government is not doing," he promised. At the headquarters of the Union of Workers in the Extractive Industry of Paracatu,

Pimentel also explained the regionalization proposal, a cross-cutting theme in his future government program. "In the last 12 years, successive governments have not paid attention to regionalization. Minas Gerais cannot be governed from a palace, with a focus only on those rooms and not on the outside. Minas is many states and must be governed with a specific focus on each region. We will present to the people of Minas Gerais a truly regionalized government program for a vote," he anticipated in his speech.

In Patos de Minas, Fernando Pimentel warned that the reality of Minas Gerais is not as pretty as what is seen on TV. "We want to govern the real Minas Gerais, the Minas Gerais of everyday life, of those who wear work boots and get their feet dirty. Of those who know the difficulties of producing, harvesting, educating, having health, and providing security for people," he said during the 35th visit of the Participation Caravan to cities in the state.

The Workers' Party member also highlighted the competence of his running mate, Toninho Andrade, who was born in Patos de Minas, in the Alto Paranaíba region. Pimentel praised the PMDB member's performance at the head of the ministry and highlighted federal government actions that benefited agriculture in the region, such as the distribution of dump trucks and backhoes to improve rural roads.
"We are going to do in Minas Gerais what President Lula and President Dilma did for the country: a Minas Gerais for everyone," Pimentel concluded.

Toninho Andrade emphasized the importance of agribusiness for Northwest Minas Gerais and Alto Paranaíba. According to him, despite this, the farmer seems to have been forgotten by the current state government. "Those who are generating wealth in the countryside need to be seen and heard," he stated. Federal Deputy and president of the PT in Minas Gerais, Odair Cunha, highlighted the administrative experience of Fernando Pimentel and Toninho Andrade. "Those who have already done so much for Brazil and Minas Gerais will do much more and better as governor and vice-governor of a democratic government, focused on the people."

Dialogue

Eager to listen and to be heard, small farmer Astolfo Moreira, a resident of Paracatu, left his field early in the morning and headed towards the Bela Vista neighborhood, where the caravan was taking place. "I've never had the opportunity to talk about what I consider important, especially for family farming. For me, this moment is fantastic because it's the first time I've seen a politician open up space to discuss what really matters to us," he said.

Present at the meeting in Paracatu, the agribusiness entrepreneur, Emiliano Botelho, recalled that Pimentel and Toninho Andrade, as ministers, were responsible for increasing the export of grains, such as corn and soybeans, and pork, products directly linked to the Minas Gerais economy.

The plenary session of the Participation Caravan brought together, in Paracatu, political leaders from the five parties that make up the Minas Pra Você Coalition (PT, PMDB, PCdoB, PRB and PROS), businesspeople, religious leaders, union members, students and workers. In Patos de Minas, approximately 250 mayors, councilors and leaders from the region participated in the meeting with the population.