Tarso: 'We will show what our government was like'

Ana Ávila, On the 21 - After spending the afternoon at home, the PT candidate for governor of the State, Tarso Genro, went to the party's central committee in the early evening of this Sunday (05), where he admitted surprise at the vote for the PMDB candidate, José Ivo Sartori, who got around 40% of the votes in the first round. Tarso finished the first stage with just over 32%. The PT member said that Sartori ran on the sidelines, while he and Ana Amélia Lemos, from the PP, had been the protagonists of the debate until then. "Sartori deserves our congratulations, but he did not participate in the political debate in the first round," he said.

For Tarso, the second round is a new election, in which both candidates start from scratch. "We are going into the second round optimistic and mobilized," said the Workers' Party member. He recalled that Ana Amélia was more than 10 percentage points ahead of him in the first round, and the difference was eventually reversed. According to him, the percentage that now separates him from the PMDB candidate is smaller and can be surpassed.

The current governor also said that he was attacked by all his opponents in the first round. "We had to choose who to respond to," he stated. According to Tarso, his opponent in the next round has presented himself so far as someone outside of party politics, which, in his opinion, is not true. "Let's compare our government with Yeda's government, in which the PMDB played a prominent role, and with that of Antônio Britto," he said.

Alliances for the second round

In the second round, Tarso stated that he will seek out mayors from all party bases. "We will propose a front to defend Rio Grande do Sul." Tarso even believes in alliances with mayors from the PP party, led by Ana Amélia. Still, he supposes that the state leadership of the Progressives will likely turn to the PMDB.

The PDT, led by Vieira da Cunha, is expected to be the first party with which the PT will attempt an alliance. When asked if Lasier Martins' election to the Senate by the party might jeopardize a future alliance, Tarso said he couldn't answer. "If Lasier becomes the leader of Brizola's party, it will make things difficult," he stated.

PSOL should be another party sought for a partnership in the second round. According to Tarso, the party that was running for governor with Roberto Robaina has a strong capacity for political mobilization. "I even contributed to that," he joked, referring to his daughter Luciana Genro, the PSOL presidential candidate. Tarso doesn't believe the socialist party will remain passive in the next stage.

PT vs. PMDB

In the second round, the PT (Workers' Party) should attack the "Achilles' heel of the PMDB (Brazilian Democratic Movement Party)," in the words of the current governor. According to Tarso, the objective is to show the contrasts between the two parties and their governments on issues such as privatizations, the state's public debt, and social policies. "We are not going to make personal attacks. We are going to show what our governments were like. Sartori didn't oppose anyone in the first round," he said. The PT in Rio Grande do Sul should also seek to link its government to that of President Dilma Rousseff.

Regarding a possible calibration error that may have directed criticism exclusively towards Ana Amélia Lemos while Sartori was advancing, Tarso said such a result was unpredictable. He believes there was no way to know that the progressive candidate wouldn't be able to respond to the criticism she received in the first round. The Workers' Party member also assessed what is happening in the current election as a traditional flow of change. According to him, voters in Rio Grande do Sul tend to believe that change is always the best option for the state. The challenge is to prove otherwise.

Research

Regarding the opinion polls, which indicated a different result than that shown at the ballot box, Tarso said he was in favor of their publication, regardless of the flaws. To be against it would be censorship, in the candidate's opinion. He also stated that voters are learning to relativize the polls. The election result proved different from that indicated in the polls, especially the exit poll, which placed Tarso more than 6 percentage points ahead of Sartori. The same occurred in the Senate. The exit poll gave Olívio Dutra a 6 percentage point advantage, but he ended up being defeated by Lasier Martins by approximately two percentage points.

Tarso assessed that the June 2013 protests had very little impact on this year's elections. He cited Geraldo Alckmin's first-round victory in São Paulo as an example. According to the candidate, the protests highlighted unmet demands from politicians, but were not reflected in the elections.

Message to the activists

At the end of the press conference, the candidates addressed the supporters, who were waiting in front of the campaign headquarters. Initially without a microphone, the crowd repeated each of Tarso's phrases so that those further away would know what the candidate was saying. The Workers' Party candidate declared his confidence in his supporters and promised a new turnaround. Olívio also addressed the crowd: "We, who are not fair-weather activists, will continue," he said in a tone of gratitude.

Jordana Becker was one of the activists dissatisfied with the defeat of the Senate candidate. “Olívio is the person who consoles us, who encourages us to continue the fight,” she said, in front of the party’s central committee, where the first part of the election ended with a call from the president of the PT in Rio Grande do Sul, Ary Vanazzi, for the activists to return to work on Monday (6) with a plenary session at 18:30 pm, at the Pompéia Church.