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Agripino denies merger with PSDB and says DEM has a special role in politics.

The party president denies an alliance with the PSDB (Brazilian Social Democracy Party) and affirms that the center-right party has room to defend a liberal economy.

Agripino denies merger with PSDB and says DEM has a special role in politics (Photo: Valter Campanato/AGÊNCIA BRASIL)

247 - Defeated by the Operation Monte Carlo scandal, which engulfed Senator Demóstenes Torres, the DEM party, formerly the PFL, denies considering a merger with the PSDB. According to the party's president, Agripino Maia (DEM/RN), the party has a special role in Brazilian politics. "The space reserved for us is that of the center-right, with liberal ideas," he told the newspaper O Globo. "This is a country that is becoming less competitive every day. The size of the Brazilian state, the enormous tax burden, and the increase in public spending are unsustainable in the long term."

The DEM party still receives R$ 5,4 million annually from the party fund and, in addition to Agripino, its main figures include the former mayor of Rio, Cesar Maia, and the governor of Maranhão, Roseana Sarney. With Demóstenes's downfall, the discourse of ethics has been lost. Agripino, however, highlights the party's potential to elect mayors in cities like Salvador, Aracaju, Macapá, and Feira de Santana as a sign of the party's "strength."

The fact is, however, that since the advancement of social programs like Bolsa Família, the DEM party has begun to lose ground in the more remote areas of the country, which were previously dominated by political bosses.