PT switches "ally" in BH: PSB out, PMDB in.
Roberto Carvalho, nominated by the municipal executive as the Workers' Party candidate for mayor, met with PMDB leaders at the home of Congressman Leonardo Quintão (PMDB). A coalition was discussed, but the conclusion was reached that maintaining both candidacies is better to force a second round against Mayor Marcio Lacerda (PSB).
Minas 247 - If the decision by the PT's municipal executive committee, which opted on Saturday night to launch its own candidacy for mayor of Belo Horizonte, is upheld, the PT will have a new "ally" in the Minas Gerais capital: the PSB will be replaced by the PMDB.
The Workers' Party (PT) reached an agreement with the Brazilian Democratic Movement Party (PMDB) in Belo Horizonte, coming close to a formal coalition between the two parties. Late Saturday night, in a meeting that extended into the early hours of Sunday morning, the current vice-mayor, Roberto Carvalho (PT), the party's nominee for the October election, visited the home of federal deputy Leonardo Quintão. Quintão is the PMDB's candidate in the city, with federal deputy Mario Heringer (PDT) as his running mate.
The PMDB congressman even considered the possibility of withdrawing his candidacy and accepting the vice-presidential slot alongside Carvalho, in a ticket that would unite PMDB and PT. However, the two parties did not reach an agreement on this. They also assessed that, to force a second round against Mayor Marcio Lacerda – still the favorite – it would be better to maintain both candidacies.
Ao 247Roberto Carvalho assured that there is still a chance that the PT-PMDB coalition will materialize. But he admitted that the tendency is, in fact, for the two parties to run in the first round of elections on separate sides.
In any case, the conversation between members of the Workers' Party (PT) and the Brazilian Democratic Movement Party (PMDB) served as a pact for the second round in Belo Horizonte. This is provided that the executive committee's decision is upheld and the PT confirms, by Thursday (the deadline for candidate registration), that it will indeed field its own candidate. Which is not entirely guaranteed, like almost everything related to the 2012 elections in Belo Horizonte...