PSB seeks vice-presidential candidate from Rio Grande do Sul and a strong platform in Minas Gerais.
Even without officially announcing his candidacy for President of the Republic in 2014, the governor of Pernambuco, Eduardo Campos (PSB), continues to seek strong platforms across the country; according to the Esplanada column, Campos invited the mayor of Porto Alegre (RS), José Fortunati (PDT), to be his running mate in the next election, but Fortunati declined the offer; in Minas Gerais, the socialist Márcio Lacerda does not seem willing to accept the mission of being the party's candidate for Governor of the State; these apparent setbacks, however, have not discouraged the socialists in their race for 2014.
Paulo Emílio_PE247 - Even without officially announcing his candidacy for President of the Republic in 2014, the governor of Pernambuco, Eduardo Campos (PSB), continues to seek strong political platforms across the country. And in this search, the first difficulties are already being exposed. According to the Esplanada column, Campos invited the mayor of Porto Alegre (RS), José Fortunati (PDT), to be his running mate in the next election, but Fortunati declined the offer. The PSB leader in the Chamber of Deputies and one of the main architects of the PSB project, Beto Albuquerque, confirms the meeting but denies that the invitation ever took place. As for the formation of the Minas Gerais political platform, the socialist Márcio Lacerda does not seem willing to accept the mission of being the party's candidate for Governor of Minas Gerais.
"If a presidential candidacy from the PSB is confirmed, it's likely that the vice-presidential candidate will be from Rio Grande do Sul. It would be good for a hypothetical future ticket if the vice-presidential candidate were from Rio Grande do Sul," said the congressman. According to him, if this actually happens, the state offers many options for forming a competitive ticket at the national level, although he did not mention any names.
The formation of the Minas Gerais political platform, one of the largest electoral colleges in the country, remains an enigma for the PSB. Despite the party's intention to launch the mayor of Belo Horizonte, Márcio Lacerda, for state governor, he does not seem very inclined to accept the task. Lacerda has a strong connection with the Minas Gerais senator and also pre-candidate for the presidency from the PSDB, Aécio Neves. Lacerda reportedly asked for a deadline, specifically until the end of May, to make a decision on this matter.
“He asked for this time and we naturally agreed. If he accepts, great. If he doesn't accept, we will look for alternatives, but our preference is for him. He is our mayor and is doing a great job leading the capital of Minas Gerais,” says Albuquerque. According to him, aiming to strengthen the state and national political platforms in the state, the PSB will promote a general change in the leadership of the party in Minas Gerais. “Walfrido (Walfrido dos Mares Guia) left. And now we will change the state leadership under any circumstances. And this change necessarily involves the composition of our political platform in Minas,” affirms Albuquerque.
Since Eduardo Campos is only expected to announce his candidacy in 2014, the PSB believes it has enough time to make the necessary arrangements to form a competitive ticket and build a platform strong enough to sustain the party's national plans and, at the same time, be able to compete for the leadership of the Minas Gerais state government. Apparently, the initial setbacks have not discouraged the party in its race for power.