Samuel is lobbying for Iris to run for mayor.
The state president of the PMDB party, Samuel Belchior, did not hide his desire to see the PMDB leader run for mayor of Goiânia next year; "I think he has a lot of potential to be mayor of Goiânia and he should present himself as a candidate, and the PMDB should narrow down the selection to choose the name this year"; Iris remains silent and does not reveal his political plans; the PMDB is eyeing an alliance with the PTB, which is dissatisfied with the state government and may go into opposition.
Goiás 247 - According to the state president of the PMDB party, former congressman Samuel Belchior, Iris Rezende will be the party's candidate for mayor of Goiânia next year. In an interview with the Xadrez column of the newspaper O Hoje, Samuel argues that the PMDB leader should launch his project soon and start seeking alliances.
“At this point I may be disagreeing with Iris, because he hasn't taken a position yet. I think he has a lot of potential to be mayor of Goiânia and he should present himself as a candidate. Of course, this will be a party decision and we have other names that could be candidates, but Iris has to present himself and the PMDB should narrow down the list to choose the name this year,” says Belchior.
Even with the president's efforts, there is no certainty about Iris's candidacy. The party remains divided between Iris's group and the wing linked to Mayor Maguito Vilela and businessman Júnior Friboi. There is even an expulsion process underway against Friboi in the PMDB Ethics Committee.
The PMDB is eyeing an alliance with Ronaldo Caiado's DEM for the 2016 election. The senator's support would certainly be conditional on Caiado's project to run for governor of the state in 2018. Iris Rezende's party is also monitoring the less-than-ideal relationship between the PTB and the government's base. Federal deputy Jovair Arantes has been unhappy with Marconi Perillo since the administrative reform, when the party lost ground in the government, and is hinting at the possibility of migrating to the opposition.