"Serra knows that now it's Aécio's turn"
Speaking to 247, Congressman Marcus Pestana (PSDB-MG), the closest associate of Senator Aécio Neves in Congress, states that the former governor of Minas Gerais would not shy away from a potential internal dispute to define the presidential candidate in 2014, but believes this will be unnecessary: "Nine out of ten PSDB members who look to the future see Aécio," he says.
Heberth Xavier _247 - The possibility of an internal dispute to define the PSDB's presidential candidate in 2014 exists, but it is remote. This is the assessment of federal deputy and president of the PSDB in Minas Gerais, Marcus Pestana. A close associate of Senator Aécio Neves in the National Congress and in political negotiations, Pestana argued this Tuesday (January 8th), in an interview with 247, that Aécio's name is almost a consensus within the party.
“Nine out of ten who look to the future see Aécio in the picture,” Pestana stated. “And Serra knows that it’s Aécio’s turn.” He doesn’t completely rule out the possibility of primaries within the PSDB. But he wouldn’t bet a cent on that possibility. “The voter sent a message in the last municipal election that they want renewal,” he said. “They chose Haddad (Fernando Haddad, from the PT) in São Paulo, Rui in Maceió (Rui Palmeira, from the PSDB), among other new names.”
The federal deputy from Minas Gerais witnessed a phone call between Serra and Aécio a few days ago. The two reportedly agreed to meet sometime this January. “There’s no such thing as an internal fight, especially since people connected to Serra, like Governor Alckmin (Geraldo Alckmin, governor of São Paulo) and Aloysio (Senator Aloysio Nunes Ferreira, also from São Paulo), have an excellent dialogue with us,” he stated, referring to the Aécio group. “Serra will have a very important role in 2014, but not as the opposition's leading figure.”
But will this “opposition” be united? For Pestana, if it depends on the PSDB, yes. “We have an obligation to be united, because, more than any eventual disagreements here and there, what unites us is the perception that the Lula-PT hegemony is showing clear signs of exhaustion on the economic and political level.”