Aloysio: Serra's candidacy is not ruled out.

247 - In an interview with journalist Ricardo Brito, from Estado de S. Paulo (read here In his full statement, Senator Aloysio Nunes Ferreira (PSDB-SP) made it clear that there is still no defined candidate within the PSDB. Although the trend favors Senator Aécio Neves (PSDB-MG), he said that a possible candidacy by José Serra cannot be ruled out.

"Serra has enormous political and personal prestige; he has votes. He has real prestige, and his engagement in the campaign is very important for victory, whether he is a candidate or not. We will only make this decision official next year. Whether Serra or Aécio is the candidate, his presence is very important," he said. "I would say today that most PSDB militants lean towards an Aécio candidacy, but Serra's candidacy, if it happens, will be seen as natural by everyone. I cannot say that he is a candidate."

However, he states that there will be no internal dispute. "The party will remain united, no doubt about it. Today there is a very strong feeling within the party of urgency to put an end to these years of PT government, for everything it represents in terms of regression and institutional degradation." And he makes it clear that the PSDB intends to use the "mensalão" issue in the campaign. "It's an issue that will be present. The issue is on the table. According to Minister Celso de Mello, it was a very serious crime against the institutions. Such an event eroded, in an absolutely irreversible way, that aura of sanctity with which the PT intended to clothe itself."

Regarding the so-called Minas Gerais mensalão, or PSDB mensalão, Aloysio sees it differently. "This trial affects an important person in our party, Congressman Eduardo Azeredo, although I don't see any comparison (with the federal mensalão). If there was a crime, it was an electoral crime, which is serious. I'm not minimizing it like the PT people and Lula do, who, after saying he was betrayed, said it was a farce."