Vanderlan remains neutral and buries the opposition's union.

After Antônio Gomide (PT), who avoids Iris's campaign platform at all costs, the PSB candidate releases his supporters from any commitment in the second round of elections in Goiás; 18 points behind his opponent Marconi Perillo (PSDB), the situation for the PMDB candidate becomes even more complicated; the resistance from opposition leaders shows that the main obstacle to unity against the PSDB candidate is precisely Iris himself, who never admitted renewal within the PMDB and distanced himself from the party those who tried to build an alternative, including Vanderlan himself.

October 09, 2014, 14:47 PMUpdated May 27, 2019, 09:59 AM

After Antônio Gomide (PT), who avoids Iris's campaign platform at all costs, the PSB candidate releases his supporters from any commitment in the second round of elections in Goiás; 18 points behind his opponent Marconi Perillo (PSDB), the situation for the PMDB candidate becomes even more complicated; the resistance from opposition leaders shows that the main obstacle to unity against the PSDB candidate is precisely Iris himself, who never admitted to renewal within the PMDB and distanced himself from the party those who tried to build an alternative, including Vanderlan himself (Photo: José Barbacena).

Goiás247 - Businessman Vanderlan Cardoso announced this Thursday morning, in a press conference at the PSB headquarters in Goiânia, that he will remain neutral in the second round of the election. Therefore, Vanderlan will not support either Marconi Perillo (PSDB) or Iris Rezende (PMDB), who last night attempted to reach an agreement with the businessman.

Vanderlan came in third place and obtained 470 votes in the first round. His statement was highly anticipated by the PMDB. However, the myth of a united opposition has crumbled. By declaring himself neutral, Vanderlan gives carte blanche to the party's activists, and the main victim is Iris Rezende.

The PMDB candidate is trailing Marconi by 550 votes, and the PT's support is viewed with suspicion. Former candidate Antônio Gomide didn't even show up at yesterday's event at the Pecuária, and the current mayor of Anápolis, João Gomes, stated that he will not participate in Iris's campaign. Without Vanderlan, inheriting the unpopularity of Mayor Paulo Garcia (PT), and with a weakened Gomide, Iris Rezende finds himself weakened.

Vanderlan's refusal to support the PMDB can be interpreted as a kind of payback. After the 2010 elections, Vanderlan migrated to the PMDB with star status and as a pre-candidate for governor of the state in 2014. The relationship was fleeting, and Vanderlan suffered the same fate as Júnior Friboi and Henrique Meirelles: the frying pan.

Fried and suffocated by Iris's influence within the PMDB, Vanderlan realized he had no chance of growth and left the party. Iris is paying the price for the rigid control with which he manages the PMDB. Over the last 30 years, all the leaders who emerged as hopes for renewal have been wiped out by the power of the old PMDB chieftain.

Gomide's unenthusiastic support and Vanderlan's neutrality highlight that Iris is precisely the factor preventing the opposition from uniting.