Tucanos criticize Aécio's proposal to end reelection.
A potential PSDB presidential candidate in 2014 advocates ending the possibility of reelection and establishing five-year terms for president, governor, and mayor in the next election; Senator Aloysio Nunes Ferreira said the idea does not help remove the PT from power; former PSDB leader Arnaldo Madeira claims the party has returned to "superfluous" matters; Eduardo Campos (PSB), however, declared his support for the senator from Minas Gerais.
247 – Senator Aécio Neves from Minas Gerais, who is struggling to achieve unanimity within his own party to run for president in 2014, has caused even more divisions among the PSDB members. Aécio, who will assume the presidency of the PSDB next month, defended the idea of ending the possibility of reelection and extending the term from four to five years for president, governor, and mayor in the next election.
The proposal goes against the strategy of his campaign's mentor, former president FHC, who approved an amendment to enable his reelection in 1997.
According to Senator Aloysio Nunes Ferreira (PSDB-SP), Aécio's suggestion is off-topic for the party. "It's a side proposal that says nothing about confronting the government. We need to present a proposal to defeat the PT. Term lengths and similar things are recurring proposals here in Congress and are not relevant to the campaign. Campaigns are about programs, showing what's wrong," he told Folha.
He is in favor of keeping the system as it is. "Personally, I'm in favor of it the way it is, a four-year term with reelection. The voter has the right to judge the ruler. If they don't like it, they change it. If they like it, they re-elect."
Former PSDB leader Arnaldo Madeira (SP) was also emphatic: "Incredible! We're back to the superfluous. Discussing five-year terms and coinciding elections. The past calls us back," he wrote on his Twitter profile. "Five-year terms for everyone, at all three levels, means hardening the political system to such an extent that only the old coup can resolve crises," he added.
Outside the party, Aécio gained supporters for the idea. The Attorney General of the Republic, Roberto Gurgel, showed himself to be in favor of ending reelection. "Reelection is undoubtedly a source of very large problems in the electoral area," said the Attorney General. For him, running for office, as stipulated by Brazilian law, causes imbalances.
According to Folha columnist Vera Magalhães, the governor of Pernambuco, Eduardo Campos (PSB), called Senator Aécio yesterday to support the proposal. Campos promised to bring the discussion to the party. For the PSB member, the change, if approved now, should take effect from 2018.