"PSB will not make a decision based on polls"

Pernambuco 247 - The National President of PSB, Roberto Amaral, said this Monday (18), in Recife, that the party will not make any decision regarding the presidential ticket, which will be altered due to the death of Eduardo Campos, based on opinion polls.

According to a poll released this Monday by Datafolha, Marina Silva, who was the vice-presidential candidate on the socialist ticket, has 21% of voter preference, technically tied with Senator Aécio Neves (PSDB) from Minas Gerais. President Dilma Rousseff (PT), running for re-election, has 36%. Amaral reiterated that Campos' widow, Renata Campos, can run for whatever she wants and called "idiotic" the speculations that there would be resistance against the former senator's candidacy.

"We don't make decisions based on polls. I have great respect for the polling institutes, but we choose our candidates based on their profiles. We have a project that aims to combat social injustice," Amaral emphasized. Regarding the Datafolha poll, the leader was emphatic. "The numbers we had a short while ago, before the tragedy, were different from these, and we had the same hope for victory that we have today," he said.

Regarding his possible resistance to Marina Silva heading the socialist ticket, Amaral lashed out, "This could only have come from an idiot. The PT didn't seek any rapprochement. My father used to say: 'the ox only breaks through the fence it knows'. The national commission will decide on the best name," he fired back.

According to him, the party will only make a decision on the matter next Wednesday (20), after a meeting of the National Executive, in Brasília. "On Wednesday we will decide on all the points present in the party, what is the best way to keep alive this message that Eduardo left, but not abandon the country. We will not leave the country," he said. He also denied having a preference for any specific name to fill the vice-presidential slot.

Below is a news report from Agência Brasil in which Amaral states that any decision by the party will have to go through Renata Campos and Marina Silva: 

Any decision will go through Renata and Marina, says the national president of the PSB.

Ivan Richard, Special Correspondent - The national president of the PSB party, Roberto Amaral, said a short while ago, at a party meeting in Recife, that any decision by the party regarding the name that will replace Eduardo Campos in the presidential race will involve Renata Campos, the widow of the former presidential candidate, and Mariana Silva, his running mate on the Unidos pelo Brasil ticket.

"We're going to talk to the five parties and then we'll talk to Marina and Renata to make our decision," said Amaral.

The president of the PSB party in Pernambuco, Celino Guedes, pointed out that Eduardo Campos died doing politics. "So, for sure, he would want us to continue the campaign," he said when asked if it was too early for such a discussion.

Regarding speculation that Renata could be Marina's running mate, Amaral said that Campos' widow "can be whatever she wants," but that the party is awaiting her decision. "I can't say anything before talking to her and respecting her. She is a woman, as you can see, who overcomes difficulties." Renata Campos is affiliated with the PSB in Pernambuco.

One day after the burial of the former governor of Pernambuco, the PSB in the state decided to hold a meeting today, which had been called by Eduardo. According to Amaral, the widow herself requested the meeting be held to discuss state issues, as a way to show unity around Paulo Câmara's candidacy for the Palácio do Campo das Princesas (Governor's Palace).

The president of the PSB reiterated that Campos's replacement must be committed to his ideals and to fighting social inequalities.