"The PT's surrender is a defeat for the left," says PSB.

Paulo Emílio, Pernambuco 247 - According to the national president of the PSB party, Carlos Siqueira, the drop in the PT's popularity and the statements made by former president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva that President Dilma had reached "dead ground" and that the PT is "old" and "only thinks about positions," are proof that the left is in crisis.

"The PT's surrender is a defeat for the left. After 12 years of a so-called left-wing government, the country is turning even more to the right than before, whether in the government's own policies or on the part of Congress. The PSB will never turn to conservative policies and, true to its ideals, will fulfill its role and fill this gap," he told 247.

Siqueira's statement confirms the growing distance between the two parties, which maintained a historic alliance for decades. The break between the parties occurred in the last elections, when the PSB launched the late former governor of Pernambuco, Eduardo Campos, as its presidential candidate. Since then, the PSB has maintained an independent position from the Federal Government in the National Congress.

According to the socialist, the biggest culprits for the current situation faced by the PT (Workers' Party) are the neoliberal policies the party adopted, which directly impact the lives of the population, such as fiscal austerity, increasing inflation and unemployment. "There is a certain sense of abandonment and disappointment with these policies that are in place, including fiscal austerity. The PT has fully embraced the neoliberal policies it always condemned. This has direct repercussions on the popularity and performance of the government. This latest poll [Datafolha, which indicates 65% disapproval of the Dilma government] is a reflection of this," he assessed.

According to him, however, the greater responsibility falls on former President Lula. "It's difficult to imagine the PT and the government without Lula. It's almost a symbiosis. He was the one who chose Dilma to be a presidential candidate when, perhaps, she didn't even want that. He influenced and continues to influence the government. It's a strange situation when the PT leader makes statements like that. The responsibility is more his than hers. She is Lula's invention," he said.

Siqueira said that voter disappointment generated by the low prospects for economic improvement, as well as the government's difficulties in maintaining control of its allied base, will have a significant influence on the next elections. "2016 tends to be the most difficult election the PT will face in its entire history. In the capital cities, rejection is high. Even PT voters themselves cannot understand the electoral fraud perpetrated by the party. It wasn't the opposition that led to this situation. It was the PT itself," he emphasized.

For the PSB, one of the direct consequences of the PT's distancing from leftist ideals is that the possibility of a renewed alliance between the two parties becomes even more distant. "I see no reason to resume in the short term. We are on the government's side in the interests of the country, but since the beginning of Dilma's second term there has been no good news for the population. There is nothing objective, concrete, that would lead to a change in this situation," he observed.

According to him, in next year's municipal elections, the PSB should launch its own candidates in the country's main cities, such as São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Recife, among others, competing directly with the PT. Along these lines, "the PSB may seek alliances with the PSDB and the PPS, which is a preferred ally. If we cannot have the PT on our side in the left-wing field, the PSB will fulfill its role and fill this gap. The PSB will perform well in the municipal elections. The new scenario that will emerge from there will be decisive in defining what will happen in 2018. Until then, however, it is risky to say anything about 2018," he said.